2010 Fall Accidents (includes Slips & Trips)
thru 1/31/10
UPDATE on FATAL SCAFFOLDING COLLAPSE Metron Construction was issued safety order days before fatal swing stage accident (seven days prior to a fatal accident that killed four construction workers at an apartment work site, Ontario’s labour ministry had concerns with a swing stage at the project – on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, four workers plunged 13 storeys to their deaths when a swing stage they were working on came apart – a fifth worker survived the fall, but has serious leg and spinal injuries – from Oct. 20 to Dec. 17, 2009, the labour ministry conducted nine field visits to the site and issued a total of eight orders to address safety concerns – among the orders issued Dec. 17 were that a temporary structure be designed and constructed to support or resist all loads and forces “to which it is likely to be subjected without exceeding the allowable unit stress for each material used” – there was a temporary structure constructed at the time which did not meet requirements – company was to provide guardrails to a work platform “being used for access to swing stage near the parking garages” – a stop-work order was also issued for use of a swing stage at the site – a labour ministry inspector returned to the site later on Dec. 17 finding “compliance achieved” and the stop-work order was lifted)
FALL through floor hole Accident victim recovering after fall (a man who fell almost four metres at an elementary school under renovation is recovering well and is expected to be released from hospital soon – on his first day on the job, he fell through a hole on the second floor and onto the concrete floor below – he was airlifted to a Hospital in critical condition – he had come to the job site that day with a friend after responding to an employment advertisement – the two of them were doing clean up when the accident happened – one man was shoveling concrete and the victim was backing away because of the dust that was flying up – he stepped into a hole and fell)
FATAL FALL though skylight MythBusters’ Erik Gates Dies in Freak Accident (worker, who has been featured on the Discovery Channel’s MythBusters, was killed in an accident last week – he was 47 – he fell through a skylight, dying from blunt force chest injuries – he was walking across the roof before he fell through the skylight – he fell about 30 feet)
UPDATE on SCAFFOLDING COLLAPSE during concrete pour Building site worker buried alive in concrete (a worker who was left with severe cement burns after he was buried alive during a horrific building site accident has won substantial compensation – he was traumatized after he fell through some foundations and landed five metres below on his ankle – he was trapped after wet concrete poured in, covering his entire body – it took 10 minutes for his colleagues to pull him free and the 30-year-old was left with severe cement burns across his entire body, leaving unsightly burns – he also suffered a broken ankle and post traumatic stress disorder for a number of years – the supporting scaffolding was not erected properly)
FATAL FALL at smelting plant Fire mishap at mine hits coal (a contractual worker, 24, died in an accident at the project site smelter plant – he was working as a welder when he fell down from a height of 80 feet while working and died on spot)
FATAL FALL into grain silo 26-year-old man died in NE Ind. grain silo fall (a grain company worker, 26, was killed when he fell about 80 feet into a silo – he died of blunt-force trauma – he was doing routine maintenance when he fell – emergency crews needed more than two hours to remove him from the grain inside the silo)
FATAL FALL Worker dies clearing roof from snow (a 35-year-old man died clearing a roof from snow – the rail worker plunged through a roof at the city’s freight station after it apparently gave way under his weight)
FALL Union Pacific worker injured near Gaviota (an employee, 52, was injured when the hillside gave way beneath him – he fell 100 feet to the beach – he suffered moderate injuries but was able to walk to a State Beach, where he was treated and transported to a local hospital – the man and his coworkers were backing away from an oncoming Amtrak train when the accident happened)
UPDATE on FATAL FALLS Harnesses worn by workers in Christmas Eve tragedy not solidly secured: police (the four construction workers who died in the Christmas Eve swing-stage tragedy were wearing harnesses at the time of the accident, but just one was connected to a safety line – five workers were on the swing stage at the apartment renovation site when it broke apart the afternoon of Dec. 24 – four workers plunged 13 storeys to their deaths and a fifth survived but is in critical care – police state that only one of the four deceased had a lanyard attached to his harness but he was not tied-off)
FALL Tree cutter falls 20 feet (a 32-year-old city council worker is nursing head and other body injuries in the Intensive Care Unit after he fell some 20 feet from a tree while on the job – he is said to be on a life and breathing machine and had surgery on his skull – he also suffered broken arms and his knees and face are swollen)
UPDATE on FATAL FALL into a vat Chocolate factory fined for fatal fall into vat | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01 … (federal safety officials fined a chocolate plant $39,000 for safety violations following the death of a factory worker who fell into a vat of chocolate last summer – cited for failing to install railings above the tanks or post signs warning workers of potential hazards – on the morning of July 8, a temporary worker who had started at the plant two weeks earlier, was loading raw cocoa into an eight-foot mixing and melting tank when he fell into the liquid chocolate and was struck on the head by a rotating paddle – after the accident, business was temporarily closed and eventually fined $1,152 by the City of Camden when inspectors discovered the plant had been operating without a mercantile license)
SCAFFOLDING FATALITIES Collapsed scaffold kills 8, injures 2 in SW China (a construction-site scaffold collapsed, killing eight workers and injuring two – the scaffold crumbled around 6 p.m. at a construction site – the two injured were rushed to hospital and were out of danger)
FATAL FALL 46-year-old man dies from fall in Milwaukee’s Third Ward (a 46-year-old man is dead after falling at a construction site – the victim in this accident is an independent carpenter – a co-worker says he was cleaning off snow from boards and tarps of a second elevator shaft to be constructed – it’s estimated he fell 30 feet and was pronounced dead on the scene)
FALL Man survives 25-foot fall into concrete vault, rescued by crane (a construction supervisor survived a fall of an estimated 25 feet from a ladder – he was apparently climbing up the ladder, out of a concrete vault being built at a Wastewater Treatment Plant, when he fell – the man had been working on the project since this summer – he was lifted out of the vault with a crane attached to a special stretcher – he was conscious and talking, but had suffered a “tremendous amount of injuries” to his arms, neck, back and legs – no one saw the man fall and that another worker found him an estimated five minutes after the accident)
FATAL FALL Accident on construction site kills three in Baku (the accident happened at 10.30 a.m. when three workers fell from the multistorey building being constructed – two of them, 20 and 34, died on the spot – the other worker, 24, died on the way to hospital)
FATAL FALL at REFINERY Fatal Fall Investigated At NCRA Refinery (federal and private officials are investigating a fatal accident at a refinery – a man working on a scaffold fell nearly 30-feet to his death – the refinery, along with a private scaffolding firm and the federal government, are looking into details of the accident – officials have not released the man’s name, or other details of the accident, until their probe is complete)
FATAL FALL from MOBILE SCAFFOLDING Worker falls seven storeys to his death (a 37-year-old man has died after falling 20 metres – it is believed a mobile scaffolding inside the building site had not been properly secured)
FATAL FALL in ELEVATOR SHAFT Man falls to death in elevator shaft in Upper West Side building (a worker, 24, plummeted down an elevator shaft to his death – he landed on top of the elevator, which was at or near the first floor of the six-story building – the worker was on the sixth floor when he fell, shortly before 5:30 p.m.- cops ruled the man’s death an accident and were investigating the possibility he may have been electrocuted before he fell – the dead man’s co-worker, a 37-year-old elevator mechanic, was checking on the lift’s power source – coworker said he was walking down the stairwell when he heard sickening banging sounds as the man tumbled down the shaft)
FALL from LADDER Worker hurt in fall (worker fell while working on a ladder atop scaffolding at the generating plant – he was lowered to the ground using a crane and taken to a Hospital with back injuries)
FALL Worker injured at Mackey work site (a construction worker suffered an arm injury, cuts and bruises after falling about 10 feet – he was treated at a hospital and released – the accident and fall took place about 11:12 a.m. – he was pulling metal decking from “penthouse level” when he stepped through a hole, falling 10 feet from the fourth floor to the third floor – Fire Department used an aerial truck to remove the man)
FATAL FALL A worker has died when he fell 50ft while repairing dome of St. Peter the … (a worker has died and another was injured when he fell 50ft while repairing the dome of St. Peter the Apostle – the incident occurred about 12:30 p.m. and the injured worker was treated at the scene before being transferred to a Hospital)
FALL from LADDER INTO POWERLINE Worker injured by fall, power line (a worker was taken to a Medical Center after falling off a ladder outdoors and hitting a power line at 2:36 p.m. – the middle-age man was trimming a palm tree when he fell about 10 feet – he was reported breathing and conscious with wounds on his hands, shins and ankles from contact with the live power line)
FATAL FALL @ refinery Worker dies at LyondellBasell refinery in Houston (a worker died at an oil refinery after an apparent fall – details of the accident, which occurred at approximately 8:30 a.m., were still being gathered – company spokesman said it did not happen in any operating areas of the plant, and that production at the the 268,000-barrel-per-day complex was never suspended, nor were there any chemical releases)
FALL from LADDER inside CONFINED SPACE Paisley hospital worker plunges into empty water tank (worker, 52, had to be rescued by firefighters after plunging to the bottom of a 30ft deep water tank and suffering head injuries – he was standing on ladders as he painted the inside of the disused steel tank in a boilerhouse within the grounds of the Hospital when he lost his balance and fell head first – he hit his head on a metal pipe as he plunged downwards, leaving blood pouring from a deep wound – a colleague who was working alongside him in the water tank tried desperately to stop the bleeding before raising the alarm – when firefighters arrived at the scene, they put a special harness on the dazed and shocked man so they could haul him out of the tank)
FATAL FALL from GRAIN SILO Pilgrim Pride worker dies after fall from grain silo (an employee at a feed mill was killed when he fell about 160 feet from the top of a grain silo – the accident was reported at 1:15 p.m. and the man was pronounced dead at the scene about 45 minutes later)
FATAL EXPLOSION Man killed in bio-gas explosion (a worker was killed and two colleagues critically injured when a bio-gas tank at a palm oil refinery exploded – three were employees were sent to the refinery to conduct maintenance works – the 11.30am explosion killed the man instantly – the other two suffered between 30 and 90 per cent burns – the explosion was so powerful that it flung all three men some 10m into the air – one landed on a fence nearby and died instantly – one fell heavily on the ground – one landed inside the tank and refinery workers pulled him out shortly after – no word on cause)
FATAL FALL from LADDER on SCAFFOLDING Bridge worker dies in fall (a workman was killed after plunging 150ft fell from a ladder on to scaffolding and died at the scene shortly before 8:30pm)
FATAL FALL from SCAFFOLDING Co-workers, family shaken by Calgary workplace death (a man, 28, died in a workplace accident – the father of three was installing siding on a home when he fell from the scaffolding – there were no witnesses – he had returned to working in construction about four years ago)
FATAL FALL Construction worker dies of injuries after 18-foot fall (a 34-year-old construction worker died of injuries suffered in a jobsite fall – he fell about 18 feet at a building under construction and suffered a severe head injury and was taken to a Medical Center – he died the following day)
FATAL FALL Worker fell to death in school (a worker, 39, was killed after he fell from the third floor of a school he was painting – he died at the Hospital after he was seriously injured in the fall)
FATAL FALL Horseheads contractor dies after fall (a man, 62, was killed in a construction accident – he died after falling 30 feet from scaffolding at a home his company was building – he was climbing out of a window near the roof of the home onto the scaffolding when he fell – scaffolding may have been unstable – he was rushed by ambulance to a Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries)
FATAL FALL Man, 69, falls to death repairing garage heater (a 69-year-old man fell to his death inside a garage where farm machinery was being kept – the heating and ventilation worker was on scaffolding and repairing a garage heater when he fell an estimated four to five metres to the cement floor – paramedics arrived on the scene and tried to resuscitate the man, but he was pronounced dead several minutes later)
FATAL FALL from SCAFFOLDING Man, 69, falls to death repairing garage heater (a 69-year-old man fell to his death inside a garage where farm machinery was being kept – the heating and ventilation worker was on scaffolding and repairing a garage heater when he fell an estimated four to five metres to the cement floor – paramedics arrived on the scene and tried to resuscitate the man, but he was pronounced dead several minutes later – he suffered head injuries from the fall)
FATAL FALL from BRIDGE Worker dies after fall from NJ bridge (a bridge worker, 55, who fell about 50 feet into a frigid river has died from his injuries – he was working for a rail line when he fell from the bridge around 4:30 a.m. – he made his way to some pilings but lost consciousness due to hypothermia – emergency service workers soon hoisted him to the bridge in a basket and took him to a Medical Center, where he died several hours later)
FATAL FALLS from BRIDGE & LADDER Rail workers die in falls at Forth and Tay Bridges within hours of each other (two workmen died in accidents at two iconic railway bridges within hours of each other – one man plunged 150ft from a ladder and the other also fell from a ladder – the first worker, 52, who fell landed on scaffolding and died at the scene – he was a member of the painting team working on the north side of the bridge when he fell just before 9pm – in the second accident less than 10 hours later, a worker, 44, fell around 6ft from a ladder on to a ledge under the rail bridge at around 6.40am – he died at the scene)
FATAL FALL from SCAFFOLDING Man dies in accident on farm (a 19-year-old man died when he fell from scaffolding – he was pronounced dead at the scene)
thru 1/31/10