Inspection Detail

Inspection: 314750605 - Michael Jefferys

Inspection Information - Office: Baltimore Area Office

Investigation Summary

On August 16, 2010, Employee #1 was performing some exterior painting on a historic property in Washington, DC. He was the friend of the project's subcontractor in charge, who informed the CSHO that Employee #1 had not worked for several years. Employee #1 was working from a boom lift. The subcontractor provided video training on boom lifts and watched Employee #1 demonstrate to him that he could safely operate the lift. There was a ground guard located near the lift to prevent pedestrian traffic from walking near the lift. Employee #1 and his coworkers returned from lunch at approximately 12:45 p.m. and began working. The following information was provided by a police detective from the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department. The ground guard stated that Employee #1 had been up and down several times to get some drinking water and that he always tied off when he got back into the basket. The last time the guard looked up at him, Employee #1 was wiping off his face with a towel. The ground guard looked away and then he heard a tree shaking. When he turned back, he saw Employee #1 falling out of the basket. He was not yelling or making any noise. The police detective informed the CSHO that Employee #1 was having problems with seizures, having had three of them in the last two weeks. The detective believed Employee #1 was having a seizure when he fell out of the lift, because of the way he landed on the sidewalk below. He fell about 20 feet. Employee #1 was wearing a fall arrest system, but he was not tied to an anchorage point. Employee #1 had multiple fractures of the skull, neck, shoulder, and back, as well as internal injuries. Employee #1 was transported to George Washington Hospital; he died five hours later.

Keywords: FRACTURE, HEAD, BOOM, PPE, BACK, LANYARD, FALL, ELEVATED WORK PLAT, PAINTER, TIE-OFF