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At approximately 12:00 p.m. on February 19, 2008, an employee was working for American Cutting & Drilling, a firm that performed concrete work. He was at a worksite where a structure was being demolished. He was on a scissor lift, cutting the corner of the side walls of a structure at a height of approximately 10 feet. The roof section had already been removed, and the south and east walls remained. The structure was adjacent to a 12-foot-deep excavation that was approximately 30 feet in diameter. The excavation wall next to the structure was at an approximately 70-degree angle of repose. The footings at the corner of the structure under the walls were resting on Type C soil. The south wall, which was approximately 14 feet wide, had been cut horizontally from the unprotected west side corner where it was attached to the east wall. It was being supported by chains connected to the boom of a crane. The east wall was attached on the north side to a structure housing an elevator shaft. The employee had placed an electric scissor lift perpendicular to the south wall, and the end of the lift was at the corner where the walls were joined. As the employee was using a heavy duty hydraulic concrete cutting saw to separate the walls at the top corner, the floor slab under the lift snapped. Due to a lack of shoring or support, the block foundation wall broke under the weight and slid down into the excavation. The resulting momentum broke the east wall from the supported south wall, and it pulled away from the wall of the elevator shaft. As the lift fell into the excavation, the employee was ejected. A 14-foot by 8-inch concrete header fell on the employee, killing him. The weather was not a contributing factor; it was clear and hot with no precipitation. There was one coworker working with the employee on the floor slab adjacent to the scissor lift. Other than his presence, there was no mention of him in the narrative.
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| Keywords:
ejected, concrete slab, excavation, demolition, collapse, construction, struck by, falling object, aerial lift, unstable position
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