Construction Firm Owner Dies From Fall From 8-Foot Step Ladder Or Overhead Platform, Michigan

SUMMARY

In Fall 2018, a construction firm owner in his 60s died when he fell from either an 8-foot step ladder or an elevated platform to a concrete floor. The decedent was using a compressor-powered saw, cutting foam panels and a wood platform/overhead truss system. The incident was unwitnessed. His son, who was working outside, heard a “crash” and ran inside of the building to find the source of the noise. When his son arrived, he saw the ladder had tipped over. The decedent had landed on his head and was face down on the concrete floor. The coworker called for emergency response. The decedent was on his hands and knees, rocking back and forth when emergency response arrived. The decedent was transported to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to injury complications several days later.

Occupational injuries and fatalities are often the result of one or more contributing factors or key events in a larger sequence of events that ultimately result in the injury or fatality. The following hazards were identified as key contributing factors in this incident:

• Working from ladder rather than an appropriate work platform
• Improper ladder use and selection
• Appropriate personal protective equipment not utilized
• Did not perform a job hazard analysis

Construction Firm Owner Dies From Fall From 8-Foot Step Ladder Or Overhead Platform, Michigan [PDF 1,213 KB]