Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310098264 - Imr Contractor Corporation

Inspection Information - Office: Foster City District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 2:57 p.m. on July 20, 2010, Employee #1 was working for the IMR Contractor Corporation at a job site in Burlingame CA. He and his coworkers were reroofing a single-story school building. The roof of this building was approximately fifteen feet high. Employee #1 was climbing an extension ladder to secure the ladder by tying it off at its top, next to the roof. A coworker of his was holding the ladder at the bottom with one hand. In his other hand, he held a wire that he was going to hand to Employee #1 once he reached the top of the ladder. As Employee #1 was halfway up, the ladder started to shift to its right side. Employee #1 lost his balance and fell approximately seven to eight feet onto an asphalt floor, breaking his right elbow. He was hospitalized for ten days, and three surgeries were performed on his elbow. The coworker stated that the ladder was too heavy for one person to hold or secure, especially when Employee #1, who weighed 180 pounds, was on it. Employee #1 said that he had done this type of work many times before and that he had been trained by his employer. This time, however, it was hard for the coworker to hold the ladder when it started to shift to its side. Both workers said that the ladder's footing was approximately seven to eight feet away from the wall. The employer was cited for not ensuring that the ladder was blocked or secured enough for Employee #1 to climb it. The employer admitted that there should have been two people to hold this heavy, metal, twenty-four-foot ladder while Employee #1 was climbing it.

Keywords: FRACTURE, ROOF, LADDER, ROOFER, FALL, ELBOW, FALLING OBJECT, LOST BALANCE, UNSTABLE POSITION