Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310488762 - Kck Construction

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 4:35 p.m. on August 23, 2007, Employee #1, an experienced carpenter who had been at the job site for four days, and two coworkers, all of KCK Construction, were working on a two-story home addition under construction. They were unstacking a 5 ft tall bundle composed of various sizes of lumber that had been dropped off the day before on the cement driveway adjacent to the house. Employee #1, who had been cutting lumber earlier that morning, walked around the lumber pile cutting the 1 in. metal strapping that held the lumber stack together. He was on the side between the stack and the house when the lumber collapsed on top of him. He became pinned against the side of the building by two 5 in. by 16 in. by 41 ft long wooden beams that had been on top of the stack. He suffered five fractured ribs, a fractured left ankle, three fractures in his right foot and partial crushing of his liver and pancreas. The coworkers came to his aid and also called 911. Fire Department paramedics arrived and transported Employee #1 to Huntington Memorial Hospital, where he remained for 47 days. The employer did not consider nor anticipate the possible displacement or shifting of the load of lumber after the metal straps were cut. It was proposed to cite the employer for violations of T8CCR 1509(c), 1712(a) and 3704.

Keywords: FRACTURE, UNSECURED, CARPENTER, PINNED, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, PANCREAS, LUMBER, STRUCK BY, UNSTABLE POSITION