Accident: 898734 - Killed When Caught Between Elevator And Shaft

On August 30, 2000, Employee #1 was in the elevator lobby on the tenth floor of a local government office building, awaiting an elevator at the end of her work shift. She and a coworker were standing next to elevator #6 when the doors opened and two people stepped out of the darken spacer. Employee #1 apparently was not looking at the elevator when it arrived and, when she turned to go inside, the elevator had already started down. She fell into the elevator shaft on top of the elevator, and the doors immediately closed. Employee #1 became partially wedged in a 6 in. space between the top of the elevator and the front of the elevator shaft . She was killed. When the elevator doors were open, the top of the elevator was approximately 38 in. below the 10th floor. The elevator safety devices were not functioning properly because the car was not supposed to move from the landing with the doors open. Employee #1 was not engaged in the operations leading to this accident.

elevator, elevator shaft, caught between, mech malfunction, door, inattention, fall

Accident: 170361463 - Injured In Fall While Boarding Freight Elevator

Employee #1, a produce clerk at a Safeway supermarket, was preparing to go back to work after a break. He was on the second floor and saw that a coworker was about to take the freight elevator to the first floor. Hoping to hitch a ride, Employee #1 hurriedly got onto the elevator but didn't notice that the upper and lower doors were closing. He tripped over the lower door, which was moving up, and fell forward into the elevator platform, landing on his right knee. He sustained a broken femur was taken by ambulance to St. Elizabeth's Hospital. A prosthesis in Employee #1's knee was also damaged.

elevator, knee, inattention, fracture, elevator gate, tripped, leg, fall

Accident: 170205926 - Thirteen Employees Injured When Temporary Platform Collapses

At approximately 8:45 a.m. on April 12, 2000, Employees #1 through #13, all carpenters, were raising and pivoting a 14 ft wide by 20 ft tall wall on the third floor of a building. Prior to beginning the lift, they had covered an elevator shaft with a temporary platform. As the wall was being raised, the employees walked toward and eventually onto the temporary platform. It collapsed, and they fell 9 ft to the second floor. Employees #1 through #13 sustained various injuries, including broken ribs, sprains, and bruises; Employee #10 was hospitalized.

construction, carpenter, elevator shaft, elevated work plat, work platform, fall, work rules, overloaded, collapse, fracture

Accident: 170205868 - Injured When Struck By Falling Manlift

At approximately 1:45 p.m. on November 24, 1999, Employee #1, a senior stationary engineer for the City and County of San Francisco, Department of Public Work, was repairing a stuck wheel on a Genie personnel lift. With the help of a coworker, he was using a chain attached to a utility truck to pull the Genie lift from one building to another. The machine was tilted back, with the mast at an angle of 45 degrees. Employee #1 was inspecting the stuck wheel and asked his coworker to get him a crescent wrench from his truck. As the coworker turned back toward him, the lift collapsed on Employee #1's shoulder. He sustained injuries that required hospitalization. The coworker did not remember hearing any noises when the accident happened. They had used the lift four or five times before, but neither employee had received any training nor had they seen the lift's operating manual. Subsequent investigation also revealed that (1) the lift wheel locks were either broken and needed repair or were out of adjustment; (2) the left wheel bearing was missing, making the lift hard to roll; (3) the hinges were damaged and both sides were out, even before the accident; (4) the lift basket did not have a guardrail or other structure around its upper periphery, nor were chains or the equivalent provided. The employer was cited for a violation of T8CCR 3328(e): machinery and equipment shall be secured to minimize the hazards caused by falling.

construction, collapse, work rules, overturn, repair, elevator, untrained, mech malfunction, struck by, inadequate maint

Accident: 14408322 - Killed In Fall From Elevation

Employee #1 was operating an Alimak rack and pinion elevator beside an offshore jack-up drilling rig that was being worked on in a ship repair yard. The upper electrical interlock device failed to function, and the elevator operated with its doors open. Employee #1 fell about 120 ft to the ground and was killed.

shipyard, elevator, fall, equipment failure, interlock, work rules, door

Accident: 170243729 - Killed In Elevator Shaft

Employee #1 was realigning the lead pig on the pig chopper in an elevator shaft. He was adjusting the ingot when the machine cycled and the elevator began to rise. Employee #1 became caught between the hydraulic elevator platform and the steel I-beam cage surrounding the elevator. He was killed instantly. Employee #1 had not locked out the machine before entering.

elevator, work rules, elevator shaft, lockout, hydraulic elevator, caught between, crushed, work platform, mech mat handling

Accident: 170053482 - Injured When Crushed By Manlift Counterweight

Employee #1, a lift operator, left her car on the north lift and locked it out. She entered the fenced enclosure area at the base and then the south counterweight enclosure to grease the components of the north lift car. The south lift, which was still operating, ascended to the top level, bringing its 5,200 lb counterweight down to the lowest position. The south counterweight struck Employee #1 on her hard hat and crushed her against the buffer springs. She sustained injuries that required hospitalization.

pinned, crushed, elevator, counterbalance, maintenance, lockout, work rules, struck by, inattention