Inspection Detail

Inspection: 315628461 - Cottonwood Inn Motel Corporation

Inspection Information - Office: Austin Area Office

Investigation Summary

At about 10:13 a.m. on October 18, 2011, Employee #1 was employed as a painter for the Cottonwood Inn Motel Corporation of La Grange, Texas. He was performing reclamation activities at a home located in Marlin, Texas. The home was owned by the employee's employer. The intent of the work was to demolish the home, while also reclaiming building materials such as bricks and side walls. He was being assisted at the site by another employee of his employer. His coworker worked at another establishment owned by the employer. Employee #1 was leading the work at the site. He had two sides of the home, the north and south sides, partially removed. At that point, the front, brick wall of the home collapsed onto him, crushing him. He was treated at the site by local fire personnel and transported by helicopter to the Scott & White Hospital in Temple, Texas. He later died of his injuries. With the removal of the side walls, it was thought that the front wall's support was weakened. No additional separate supports were utilized to reinforce the front, brick wall. In addition, wind gusts that day reached up to 40 mph (64 kph), according to a report made by the fire department.

Keywords: HIGH WIND, WALL, DEMOLITION, COLLAPSE, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, CONSTRUCTION, CRUSHED, PAINTER, UNSTABLE POSITION