Fall through surface or existing opening 16 to 20 feet · Soreness, pain, hurt-nonspecified injury
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Perfectly Safe Systems, Lamar University- Auditorium, BEAUMONT, TEXAS 77705
on — Soreness, pain, hurt-nonspecified injury, affecting the multiple body parts, n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was requested by a client to string wire on top of an auditorium. He used a boom lift to access a beam and then exited the boom lift to walk on the beam. He then stepped down on a drop ceiling, lost balance, and fell. The drop ceiling caved in and the employee fell 20 feet onto bleachers sustaining injury to his abdominal area and lower left leg. The employee was wearing a harness, but it was not connected to an anchoring point at the time of the fall.
On November 16, 2023, at around 3:30 p.m., a subcontracted employee was painting a door jam on a three-story house when he fell 20 feet through an opened elevator shaft to the floor below. The employee sustained fractured vertebrae that required hospitalization.
Employees were removing and replacing skylights on a metal roof. The injured employee's lanyard became tangled and they fell through the skylight to the ground 16-18 feet below. The employee suffered fractures to the wrist, ribs, and hip.
An employee was installing decking (steel grates) in a new construction steel framed building. The employees were working approximately 22' above the next lower level, which was a concrete ground floor. The decking was pre-cut with the floor opening prior to installation. Shortly after installing the floor opening, the employee fell through the floor opening, approximately 18' onto a section of metal ductwork, resulting in fractures to the skull, ribs, thorax, and lumbar vertebra, as well as an ear laceration.
An employee was taking measurements of an area for drywall when they stepped backward into a partially covered hole in the floor. The employee fell approximately 17 feet to the level below, sustaining a forehead fracture and avulsion, a right shoulder dislocation, a left forearm fracture, left knee tendon and meniscus tears, as well as multiple contusions and abrasions.
An employee was stepping onto a temporary metal decking to hook up to his retractable when the C-clamp that was being used to temporarily fasten the metal deck slipped. A sheet moved and the employee fell through the stair landing 16 feet onto the landing below, resulting in clavicle and rib fractures as well as internal injuries.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 238210)
An employee was troubleshooting the control setup for a variable air volume box above a ceiling. The employee's hand came into contact with an exposed, energized 277-volt wire that had loosened from its terminal on the box's assembly. He was shocked and fell off a ladder. His left hand passed across the ceiling grid and was lacerated. He also suffered an electrical burn to the right hand and was hospitalized.
An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.
An employee was standing on an A-frame ladder approximately 6 feet above the floor while he attached a suspended light fixture to the ceiling. The employee lost balance, and fell to the tiled floor below, sustaining blunt force trauma to his head.
An employee was inspecting the overhead area of a single-person lift and repositioning the lift through a double doorway. As they were transitioning through the doorway, they were caught between the doorframe and the vertical mast of the lift. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to the nose, left maxillary sinus, left orbital bone, and left jaw, with fractures at the maxillary sinus area.
The injured employee was performing routine maintenance on a fan belt/pulley. The injured employee and another person were moving the pulley back and forth manually to find a bearing issue. The injured employee's left ring finger got caught between the belt and the pulley wheel, resulting in a soft tissue amputation.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.