Inspection Detail

Inspection: 309741932 - James L. Cayton Associates Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Nc Department Of Labor - Raleigh

Investigation Summary

On February 14, 2006, Employee #1, a journeyman plumber, was working for a plumbing subcontractor on a project to construct three-story triplex condominiums. He had come to the project site to verify that plumbing connections had been installed correctly in the units. There were no elevators, nor were there any components associated with an elevator onsite. There were, however, 29 ft 2 in. tall shafts in each of the three buildings where elevators would be installed at a later date. On all three floors and in all three buildings, there were doorways, with doors and hardware in place, that opened to the 4 ft 7 in. deep by 4 ft 4 in. wide shafts. Employee #1 had not been to the site for over three months and was not familiar with it. He told one of his coworkers to turn on the water at the street so they could check for leaks in the water system. He stayed in one of the buildings and stationed a coworker in each of the other two buildings. When the water was turned on, a leak was found in one of the buildings and the coworker shouted, "There is a leak here." Employee #1 was going to investigate the leak, which was in the ceiling on the third floor of the building on the east end, when he fell 20 ft 8 in. from the third floor doorway opening to the bottom of the shaft. In describing the accident afterward, Employee #1 could only recall opening a door on the third floor to look up for the water leak; he did not remember falling, and there were no witnesses. The door faced west; during his feet-down descent, he rotated left so that he was facing southeast when he struck the dirt floor of the shaft. His fingernails left striations in the sheetrock walls on the north and west sides of the shaft. The marks on the north wall were made by his right hand starting at a height of 18 ft 4 in. and ending at 17 ft 10 in. The three-inch-long marks on the west wall were made by his left hand, starting at 17 ft. Employee #1's boot soles left various scuff marks along the north and west walls. There was a 3/4 in. thick by 6 in. long exposed thread lag bolt extending out from the wall on the north side of the shaft, about 8 in. above the bottom of the shaft and 9 in. from the west wall. The outside of Employee #1's left boot came struck this bolt, and his left foot, ankle, and leg sustained multiple fractures. His body tilted to the right slightly before his right foot struck the bottom of the shaft, and his right leg was fractured in several places. Employee #1 also fractured his left arm at the humerus, and he sustained injuries to his left clavicle that required multiple surgeries. Employee #1 also suffered contusions and lacerations to his left frontal cranium, resulting in a closed head injury. Subsequent investigation revealed that there had been no jobsite hazard assessment or training provided to employees that indicated that there was a fall hazard on the site. There were no markings, signs, or placards on or around the doors that indicated that there were open shafts behind them. The doors were not blocked or locked in any way. A layer of flat white paint had been applied to the walls and doors, in preparation for painting/wallpapering later. This left the walls, doors, trim, and ceilings one color and unremarkable in appearance.

Keywords: FRACTURE, GUARDRAIL, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, UNTRAINED, ELEVATOR SHAFT, LEG, WARNING SIGN