Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report for Kentucky: Migrant Worker Killed in 22-Foot Fall Inside Building

摘要

A 35-year-old male (the victim) died when he fell 22.5 feet from the third floor of a warehouse to the concrete floor of the first level. The building was being renovated, and the victim had been cleaning on the third floor, which extended only about halfway across the building. The edge of the floor on which the victim had been working was unprotected. Although a rescue squad arrived at the scene within six minutes, the victim was pronounced dead in the operating room of a local medical center approximately two hours later. In order to prevent similar incidents, the FACE investigator recommends that employers should: (1) instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and the regulations applicable to the work environment to control or eliminate any hazards or other exposures to injury or illness; (2) protect workers on surfaces with an unprotected side or edge six feet or more above a lower level by the use of guardrail, safety net, or personal fall arrest systems; and, (3) ensure that temporary or permanent stairways have landings and handrail or stairrail systems.