UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Inspection Detail

Inspection: 312694466 - Kevin Semien

Inspection Information - Office: Ca San Francisco

Investigation Summary

At approximately 10:30 a.m. on December 29, 2012, Employee #1, with Kevin Semien, was removing debris and garbage off the top of three roofs. In addition, Employee #1 was patching up the holes on the roofs that were causing leaks and was putting coats of silver paint on the roofs. The height between each of the three roofs was a little less than ten ft high. Three extension ladders were set-up to access each of the rooftops from: for the first ladder, the sidewalk to the garage roof; for the second ladder, the garage roof to the next level (mid) roof; and, for the third ladder, the mid roof to the upper roof. A coworker had just driven a truckload of garbage bags away, when Employee #1 was ascending the second ladder (from the garage roof). Employee #1 climbed to the top of the ladder and was stepping off the rung and onto the parapet of the mid roof, when Employee #1 either slipped, or lost his balance, and fell down onto the rooftop of the garage. On top of the parapet, an existing metal conduit ran down the center and the length of the wall. When Employee #1 stepped off the ladder, he may have stood on part of the top portion of the parapet instead of the whole width, which may have contributed to his fall. A pedestrian called the emergency services, and they took Employee #1 to the hospital, where he was treated for his fractured left leg and was hospitalized for 13 days. There were no witnesses to Employee #1's fall. The employer was not cited any serious accident-related violations. That day, it was raining, and the top of the parapet wall was slick. The parapet wall was approximately ten ins. wide. The height of the fall was a little less than 10 feet. The Division was not able to establish substantial probability. The employer was cited for a variety of ladder violations including not reporting a serious injury to the Division. Whether Employee #1 was employed by the owner of the property, Kevin Semien, was in dispute; a referral was submitted to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement for resolution.

Keywords:fracture, extension ladder, roof, cleaning, construction, unstable surface, fall, slippery surface, lost balance, leg