Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310814553 - Turner Construction

Inspection Information - Office: San Diego District Office

Investigation Summary

At 6:20 a.m. on January 2, 2008, Employee #1 of Turner Construction was working at a job site located at 9888 Genesee Avenue in San Diego, CA and was injured when several drywall panels fell and struck him. Turner Construction is a general contractor primarily engaged in commercial construction, and was overseeing the work of several subcontractors at the site. At the time of the incident twelve sheets of drywall measuring 12 feet by 4 feet and weighing approximately 100 pounds each were located in a hallway at the job site. The drywall panels were leaned up against a wall lengthwise being supported at the bottom and angled toward the wall so that the wall supported the weight of the panels. While performing a safety inspection Employee #1 was straightening out some electrical cords in the hallway and one cord located between the wall and the drywall panels became unplugged. The unplugged cord operated a negative air ventilation system which would cause an alarm to go off if levels of negative air ventilation dropped below a set level. Levels of the negative air system were constantly monitored at the site and Employee #1 wanted to quickly resolve the issue to keep the alarm from being activated. Employee #1 pulled the top of the twelve drywall panels away from the wall, attempting to put them into an upright position so that a subcontractor could go behind the panels and reconnect the plug. As Employee #1 pulled the panels away from the wall they passed the upright position, causing the weight of the panels (approximately 1200 pounds total) to shift and begin to fall towards Employee #1. Employee #1 attempted to jump out of the way of the panels but was struck, knocking him to the ground onto his back and fracturing his right leg in three places. Employee #1 was admitted for treatment at Scripps Hospital in San Diego, CA on January 2, 2008.

Keywords: FRACTURE, PANEL, LEG