Fatal Accident Circumstances and Epidemiology (FACE) Report: Ironworker Dies Following a 12-Foot Fall from Metal Decking onto Concrete, December 13, 1989

摘要

On December 13, 1989, a 20 year old male ironworker died when he fell 12 feet onto a concrete floor. The victim was employed since his arrival in the United States as an ironworker by a small construction company that does steel erection and decking. He spoke and understood English, but his primary language was Spanish. The victim was a member of an eight person crew engaged in steel erection at a two story building under construction. He was using no fall protection equipment at the time of his accident. The crew was placing corrugated metal decking on a steel beam gridwork as the formwork for a concrete floor. Each sheet was 26 feet long, and weighed 120 pounds. A coworker stated that at the time of the incident the victim was trying to handle a sheet of decking alone. The victim was dragging the sheet toward the edge of the installed ceiling when he lost his balance and fell backward. He landed, striking the left side of his head against the concrete floor 12 feet below. An emergency medical service team arrived within 15 minutes of the incident, and transported the victim to a hospital; he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The cause of death was head injuries sustained in the fall. Recommendations include the use of fall protection equipment, performing hazard identification as a part of job planning, training employees in the use of appropriate safety equipment, provision of fall protection anchorage systems as part of the overall design of a structure, and ensuring that workers use proper material handling techniques.