Inspection Detail

Inspection: 313658247 - Albert J. Wagner & Son, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Chicago North Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 1:00 pm, on August 6, 2009, Employee #1 of Albert J. Wagner & Son, Inc. was fatally injured when he fell approximately 32 feet from a tubular weld frame scaffold. Employee #1 was the president of the company and was apparently inspecting repair work made to the cornice of the building that other employees had done earlier in the week. Employee #1 was responding to the building owner's concern that the repair work done earlier was not satisfactory. The scaffold consisted of two separate scaffold towers (north and south tower) erected diagonally from each other on the corner of the building with a walkway bridging the two towers. Although it is not known specifically where Employee #1 was or the events that directly preceded his fall, based on the position of his body after the fall it appears Employee #1 was on the south tower at the time of the accident. There were no direct witnesses to the fall. The guardrails protecting the west side (side of the fall) of the south tower work platform were installed in a diagonal fashion stretching from the south tower to the north tower, which left a triangular shaped gap between the guardrails and the south tower work platform of approximately 28 inches in its greatest dimension. In addition, the mid rail had previously been removed by another employee to access the walkway bridging the platforms. The company had hired a scaffold erection company to erect scaffolds. Weather was sunny and dry and does not appear to have contributed to the accident.

Keywords: FALL, SCAFFOLD