Inspection Detail

Inspection: 307694026 - Bushwick Metals, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Bridgeport Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 7:00 a.m. on September 17, 2004, an approximate 2 feet wide by 6 feet long section of the roof collapsed and Employee #1, conducting roof repair activities, fell through it to the floor, approximately 35 feet below. The two temporary agency workers from Express Personnel were on top of the roof to repair an approximately 3 feet by 4 feet area which had been leaking. One employee was the roofer and Employee #1 was the helper. The two workers had planned to repair the roof by removing the gravel and breaking the concrete roof section so that it would fall into the bay below and then install a patch and seal it. The workers used a ladder and accessed the roof by the shop maintenance area and went across the roof, approximately 35 feet above the floor in Bay 2, to the area they were going to work, which was approximately 80 feet east of the closest outside or western edge of the building. The workers began cleaning debris from the area and Employee #1 then began using a shovel to clear the gravel from around the area to be repaired. According to the roofer, he was going down the roof to tell employees working in the area below where they were repairing to move out of the way so that they would not be hit by the concrete when they began to break it up. As the roofer started to leave the area where Employee #1 was working, the roofer heard a crack and looked back and saw Employee #1 halfway through the roof falling toward the floor. The roofer stated that Employee #1 fell through the area that they were going to repair. Employee #1 was hospitalized with multiple and compound fractures, including right wrist, right femur, lower extremities, both tibias, right ankle, and scalp lacerations.

Keywords: ROOF COLLAPSE, FRACTURE, REPAIR, ROOF, LACERATION, UNSTABLE SURFACE, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, UNTRAINED, WORK SURFACE