Accident: 112895081 - Killed In Fall Through Suspended Ceiling Tile

Employee #1 and a coworker were attempting to reach an opening to be closed with a tarp to prevent overspray fire proofing from reaching the equipment below the opening. They were accessing the opening through the ceiling when Employee #1 stepped onto the suspended ceiling tile and fell 57 ft onto concrete. He was killed.

construction, suspended ceiling, fall, work surface, work rules, unstable surface, fall protection

Accident: 126111012 - Killed In Fall From Attic Ceiling Panel

At approximately 5:30 p.m. on June 26, 1998, Employee #1, a part-time electrician, and a coworker were on a catwalk pulling electrical cables across the ceiling rafters in the attic of the Veterans Memorial Building auditorium. Employee #1 fell 32 ft through a ceiling panel to the auditorium floor. He was transported by Culver City Fire Department paramedics to UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead later that evening of multiple blunt force injuries. The coworker, who was doing the same job on the other side of the attic, said that the catwalk had adequate guarding for fall protection, and that he could not understand how Employee #1 fell. Employee #1 did not have a contractor's license.

fall, ceiling panel, work surface, fall protection, work rules

Accident: 170052500 - Seven Firefighters Injured When Ceiling Collapses

Two workers for Crystal Ice and Storage were dismantling a built-in freezer unit. They were working on top of the freezer unit removing electrical conductors and parts from light fixtures when an emergency arose and they needed to be rescued by the fire department. Employees #1 through #7, of the Phoenix Fire Department were rescuing one of the workers when the ceiling collapsed on top of them. All seven employees sustained injuries, including lacerations and bruises, but none required hospitalization.

ceiling, collapse, falling object, fire fighter, dismantling, fire

Accident: 200200277 - Two Injured When Ceiling Panel Collapses

Employees #1 and #2, both electrical workers, were standing on the edge of unfinished, insulated ceiling panels, discussing the job. The leading edge of the unfinished area was used by several contractors to reach their workstations and to load and unload their materials. While Employees #1 and #2 were talking, a coworker began walking toward them. Without warning, the ceiling panel collapsed. The coworker was able to catch himself but Employees #1 and #2 fell to the concrete floor. Employee #1 suffered severe cranial damage, and Employee #2 sustained a broken left arm. Both were immediately hospitalized.

construction, unsecured, ceiling panel, collapse, fall, fracture, arm, head, work rules, work surface

Accident: 119746360 - Injured In Fall Through Suspended Ceiling

Employee #1 was checking the overhead area of an office for a water leak. He stepped onto the false ceiling and fell through to the concrete floor.

suspended ceiling, fall, work rules, fall protection, work surface, maintenance

Accident: 200520294 - Killed In Fall Through Ceiling

Employee #1, a sheet metal installer, was patching holes around duct work in the attic of a building that was being remodeled. He stepped through the ceiling and fell 25 ft. Employee #1 was killed.

construction, work surface, attic, ceiling, fall, fall protection, work rules

Accident: 200960763 - Injured In Fall Through Suspended Ceiling

Employee #1, who worked for a company that performed HVAC control wiring, accompanied his foreman into a house under construction to check a wiring chase and plan a job. The foreman incorrectly presumed that Employee #1 was familiar with the work area. The two men accessed the work area by way of what would eventually be a stairwell, but which at the time was only a hole cut in the wall near the balcony on the second floor main hallway. The foreman entered first. Employee #1 watched him step down into the opening, turn left, and then move out of sight. Employee #1 followed, but when he stepped into the opening he found that the area was unlit, and that he could see neither what was in front of him nor where the foreman had gone. He listened, heard the foreman to his left, and then put one foot out to find something to stand on before he moved. Employee #1 felt what he thought was the concrete slab above the second floor hallway, took a step, and fell 10 ft through a suspended ceiling to the floor. He sustained injuries that required hospitalization.

lighting, communication, construction, ceiling, poor visibility, work surface, fall, suspended ceiling, work rules

Accident: 200780104 - Killed In Fall From Roof

Employee #1 was lining up roof trusses so they could be attached to the ceiling joist on which he was standing. In the process, he fell 21 ft from the joist and was killed. Employee #1 had been wearing a safety belt and lanyard, but he did not have the lanyard attached. An interpretation of the fall protection standard issued in 1995 states that workers may work at heights of up to 25 ft without fall protection if they are involved in a steel erection task. The foreman at Employee #1's workplace was aware of this, and did not enforce the attachment of lanyards, as his workers were at a height of 21 ft.

ceiling, installing, truss, fall, construction, fall protection, lanyard, unsecured, steel erection