Inspection Detail

Inspection: 307394833 - Otis Elevator Co.

Inspection Information - Office: San Francisco District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 3:00 p.m. on February 27, 2006, Employee #1, a fourth-stage apprentice working for an elevator contractor, was tagging the buffers of the traction elevators in a builidng in San Francisco, CA. After finishing about six elevators, he went back up onto the lobby landing and tried to lower a car using the hoistway access switch. The car would not move. Employee #1 went partway back into the pit to check the pit switch, which was mounted on the side wall near the landing. On removing the cover of the switch, he could not see the problem; he then proceeded into the pit to look at the other switches. After checking, he found that none of the switches were tripped. Employee #1 began to climb back up toward the lobby landing using the fixed ladder mounted on the wall of the pit when his foot slipped off one of the rungs. He fell backward, striking the guard over the pit light on his way down. He dropped approximately 14 ft, landing on a beam at the bottom of the pit. Employee #1's screams were heard by a woman in the lobby, and she contacted Emergency Services. The Fire Department responded, rescued him from the pit, and transported him to San Francisco General Hospital. Employee #1 had injured two vertebrae--one had burst and one was compressed--for which he underwent surgery. He was hospitalized for over one week. Employee #1's foreman was not in the builidng at the time of the accident.

Keywords: MAINTENANCE, LADDER, SLIP, CONSTRUCTION, FIXED LADDER, BACK, FALL, VERTEBRA, ELEVATOR SHAFT