Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310100185 - Benjamin Yeung

Inspection Information - Office: Foster City District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 8:15 a.m. on June 27, 2011, Employee #1, an independent painting contractor, was hired to do touch-up work on the front and right side of a residential dwelling. Without the homeowner's knowledge, Employee #1 removed an old, unused telephone wire that was stapled to the right side of the house to enable him to paint the entire outside right wall. He took his 24-ft ladder from his truck and leaned it across the cable wires hanging perpendicularly across the telephone poles across the street from the house. He climbed up his ladder and cut the opposite end of the unused telephone wire that he had removed from the right side of the house. The wire he cut was 20 feet above the ground. After he cut the wire, he lost his balance and fell off the ladder 17 feet onto the concrete sidewalk below. The homeowner heard a thud and a loud noise and went outside to see what had happened. Employee #1 landed on his right side with his right shoulder resting on the curve and his lower extremities on the road. The aluminum 24-ft ladder was still erect and rested on the perpendicular cable wires that were hanging from pole to pole. There were no witnesses to the incident. Employee #1 was transported to Stanford Hospital, where he remained in a coma until June 30, 2011, when his life was terminated by his family.

Keywords: COMMUNICATION CABLE, LADDER, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, CONCUSSION, LOST BALANCE, PAINTER, UNSTABLE POSITION