Inspection Detail

Inspection: 308677475 - Goc'S Construction & Maintenance Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Omaha Area Office

Investigation Summary

On April 22, 2005, Employee #1 and two coworkers, who worked for a framing contractor, were working on the inside of a home under construction. The exterior walls, the Wausau wall panels, were installed and braced. The next step for the employees was to install the roof trusses. Employee #1 telephoned the representative of the general contractor and explained that it was too windy to install the trusses. Instead, Employee #1 and the coworkers would do some interior wall placement. The general contractor stated that he agreed on that. As Employee #1 and two coworkers were inside the home, one of the wall panels broke loose and fell towards the interior of the home, falling onto Employee #1. He fractured his pelvis and sustained a dislocated hip. The wall panel that fell was approximately 18 ft wide and 20 ft high. It was also the peak side of the home on one end. One of the contributing factors to the incident was the high wind on the day of the accident. The wind was blowing 30 to 40 miles per hour that day, based on weather information obtained from the internet. The wall was braced but it was not known yet how it was braced or how many braces were used.

Keywords: FRACTURE, HIGH WIND, TRUSS, PANEL, ROOF, WALL, CONSTRUCTION, PELVIS, FALL, HIP