Accident: 120277173 - Killed In Fall From Catwalk

On March 16, 2000, Employee #1, a training supervisor for a law enforcement agency, was observing a SWAT police training exercise from the ceiling of a block house. He was standing on two 11 in. planks that formed a catwalk above the concrete floor. Employee #1 stooped down to talk to a trainee and, when he stood back upright, he apparently lost his balance and fell backward 8 ft 8 in. onto the floor. His head struck against the concrete floor and he suffered head trauma, from which he died. The causal factor of the accident was the lack of guardrails on the cat walk; in their absence he should have been utilizing another type of fall protection.

catwalk, guardrail, fall, concussion, lost balance, head, elevated work plat, fall protection, work rules

Accident: 126008879 - Suffers Multiple Fractures In Fall Through Catwalk

On June 17, 1999, Employee #1, a trained and experienced iron worker, was installing metal floor grating on an approximately 80 ft high catwalk underneath the Coronado Bridge in San Diego, CA. He took a lunch break and was moving along the catwalk when he fell 20 ft through an opening onto a work platform. He suffered four fractured ribs, a fractured right knee, and a fractured left scapula. Employee #1 was not using his safety harness and lanyard at the time of the accident.

bridge, construction, fall, fall protection, fracture, catwalk, lanyard, floor opening, safety belt, work rules

Accident: 170053508 - Injured In Fall From Catwalk

Employee #1 fell approximately 5 ft off a catwalk, sustaining minor injuries. The distance of the fall was too small to fall within OSHA jurisdiction.

catwalk, fall

Accident: 170724629 - Fell From Catwalk And Was Impaled On Angle Iron

A heavy equipment mechanic was assisting a crew that was removing a temporary steel support structure after the repair of a water turbine at the bottom of the turbine pit. The mechanic was on a catwalk. The catwalk was not protected by guardrails, and the employee was not using personal fall protection equipment. He accidentally stepped back off catwalk and fell, landing on a vertical piece of angle iron lying on the concrete floor. He was impaled on the upper part of his left thigh and suffered a shattered hip socket. He was hospitalized for his injuries.

fall, catwalk, guardrail, fall protection, metal rail, impaled, hip, leg, elec utility work

Accident: 200900249 - Killed In Fall When Catwalk Grate Dislodges

Employee #1 had just finished unclogging a log jam and was starting to exit the log conveyor area. This required he scale a 42 1/2 in. tall metal retaining wall, and then hop off the wall onto a catwalk. As Employee #1's feet hit the catwalk, a 36 in. by 40 in. section of grating became dislodged from its supports and both the grating and Employee #1 fell 16 ft onto a concrete surface. Employee #1 suffered a severe skull fracture and was killed.

catwalk, grating, unsecured, work surface, fall, skull, fracture, work rules

Accident: 170888283 - Leg Fractured By Pipe Moving On Conveyor

Employee #1, an assistant tacker operator, was returning from inspecting the conveyor roller drive belts on an automated tacker in-feed conveyor in a pipe manufacturing plant. He was crossing the conveyor line on an elevated walkway extension when he was struck by a 40 ft long by 32 in. diameter steel pipe moving on the conveyor. His lower left was fractured when it became caught between the pipe and the roller or conveyor. The walkway area where Employee #1 was crossing was not guarded or railed to prevent access while the conveyor was moving.

pipe, work rules, leg, caught between, catwalk, guardrail, roller conveyor, fracture, roller--mach/part, automat

Accident: 200260131 - Injured In Fall From Truck Catwalk, Later Dies

At approximately 7:25 a.m. on May 13, 1997, Employee #1 was repairing the hydraulic pump on the 22 ft boom extension on feed truck #680. He was standing on the 18 in. wide catwalk that was mounted on feed truck trailer #234T, pulling on a braided 1/2 in. nylon rope that was tied to the feed truck boom. The rope came untied and Employee #1 lost his balance. He jumped 11 ft 6 in. to the ground, breaking his left leg and right heel. Paramedics took Employee #1 to Columbia Regional Hospital in Dequeen, AK, where x-rays were taken and he was stabilized. Complications developed, and Employee #1 was transported to St. Michael's Hospital in Texarkana, TX, where he went into cardiac arrest. Employee #1 underwent surgery and remained in a coma in the intensive care unit from May 16, 1997, until his death on June 1, 1997.

truck boom, repair, fall, catwalk, lost balance, fracture, leg, cardiac arrest, unsecured, work rules

Accident: 170758791 - Killed In Fall From End Of Catwalk

Between 2:00 and 2:30 a.m. on April 12, 1997, Employee #1 and a coworker were on an approximately 21 ft high platform, checking the main water valve on the pre-dryer scrubber. The platform was blocked by metal scaffolding, so Employee #1 crawled through the scaffolding to make his way to the other side of the platform. He stood up, holding a penlight in his mouth. Employee #1 then stepped backward, falling 21 ft off the unguarded end of the catwalk to the ground. He sustained severe head and internal injuries, and was killed.

fall, elevated work plat, scaffolding, catwalk, head, guardrail, work rules, fall protection, walking backward

Accident: 170894810 - Knee Injured When Struck By Falling Pipe

At approximately 6:00 p.m. on March 27, 1997, Employee #1, a derrickman with Western Drilling, Inc., was working with a crew to lay down drill collars on oil well drilling rig #48. Employee #1 was on the pipe walk, unhooking the drill collars and placing them for storage. A joint of 4 1/2 in. drill pipe was being stored in the V-door located between the floor of the drill rig and the pipe walk. While Employee #1 was bent over releasing the sling on the collars, the drill pipe came out of the V-door. He tried to dodge the pipe, but it struck him in the right knee, fracturing it.

drill pipe, falling object, struck by, knee, oil well drilling, derrickman, unsecured, fracture, catwalk, oil rig

Accident: 958413 - Legs Injured In Fall From Catwalk

At approximately 10:00 a.m. on March 19, 1997, Employee #1, an experienced grip for Warner Brothers, was working on a feature film titled "Sphere." He was on location over a large tank that was being used as an underwater motion picture set. Employee #1 was raising a block and tackle with a tag line but problems with the rigging caused the tag line to jam in the block. The tag line suddenly came loose, causing him to fall backward and under the top rail. He fell more than 40 ft into the partially filled tank, striking a corner brace on the northwest inside corner of the tank and sustaining severe leg injuries. Employee #1 was standing on a suspended scaffold that was not equipped with midrails.

tag line, unsecured, catwalk, scaffold, midrail, fall, struck against, leg, work rules, guardrail