Inspection Detail

Inspection: 104444963 - Hunt Valley Masonry Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 and coworkers were on the sixth frame of a scaffold installing masonry bricks on the front of a building. Each frame of the nine frame scaffold measured 6 ft 6 in. high by 5 ft wide, with 7 ft spacing in-between. The 80 ft 9 in. long scaffold had been erected one month earlier. It was set on jack screws that measured 6 in. to 1 ft high and set on 10 in. by 2 in. thick by 16 ft long wooden sills that lay on the ground. The employees were standing on the scaffold brackets when Employee #1 attempted to climb up a corner with one foot on the wet wall of the newly installed masonry brick and the other foot on the crossbracing of the scaffold frame. He lost his balance and fell 40 to 45 ft between the fourth and fifth levels of the spandrel area outside the front of the building. He died as a result of massive head injuries. Two coworkers on the scaffold level above had been removing the scaffold boards from this level when he fell.

Keywords: WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, LOST BALANCE, SCAFFOLD, UNSTABLE POSITION