Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310487145 - Green Lofts Llc And Ryan C Flegal

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At around 2:30 p.m. on November 28, 2006, a construction laborer suffered multiple compound fractures of the left arm and right leg due to a fall from a scaffold. The facility involved in the accident was real estate developer. The injured employee had been working there for one month, performing duties of a construction laborer, including exterior stucco work. At the time of the accident, he was performing a regularly assigned task of working from a ladder atop a rolling scaffold in the attempt to prepare a wall for stucco. The injured employee was assigned to prepare an exterior brick wall at the rear of the site for stucco. He placed a six-foot folding ladder atop a nine-foot-high rolling scaffold to access the area he needed to work. Only two of the four scaffold wheels were equipped with brakes requiring the injured employee to block the non-locking wheels with a "2 by 6". While the injured employee was preparing the wall for stucco the rolling scaffold moved unexpectedly, causing him to fall approximately 11 feet to a concrete surface below. An unidentified passer-by saw the injured employee on the ground and alerted the other employees to the injury. The injured employee was transported and admitted to Saint Francis Medical Center. The injured employee was not working within close proximity to any other employees. The supervisor was not at the site at the time of the injury. Interviews were conducted of the injured employee. The investigation concluded that the rolling scaffold was not equipped with brakes on all of the wheels, as required, and that the supervisor was aware of this condition, resulting in a serious accident-related violation.

Keywords: LADDER, FALL, SCAFFOLD