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Deaths Due to Unprotected Sides, Wall Openings, and Floor Holes

Case Reports

The following Case Reports of falls investigated by OSHA illustrate how seemingly innocent workplace activities can have deadly consequences.
  • An employee taking measurements was killed when he fell backward from an unguarded balcony to the concrete 9½ feet below.
  • A roofer, handling a piece of fiberboard, backed up and tripped over a 7½ inch parapet. He fell more than 50 feet to ground level and died of severe head injuries.
  • Two connectors were erecting light-weight steel I-beams on the third floor of a 12-story building, 54 feet above the ground.  One employee removed a choker sling from a beam and then attempted to place the sling onto a lower hook on a series of stringers. While the crawler tower crane was booming away from the steel, the wind moved the stringer into the beam the employee was standing on. The beam moved while the employee was trying to disengage the hook, causing him to lose his balance and fall to his death.

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Page last updated: 03/03/2009