Construction Accidents

Scaffold  Accident Case No. 1--Two Deaths

On November 15, 1988, a 53-year-old male painting foreman and a 28-year-old male painter died when the scaffold from which they were working collapsed, causing them to fall nearly 48 feet to the ground. The men were painting the exterior of a 48-foot- high, 56-foot-diameter storage tank. They were painting the side of the tank from a two-point suspension scaffold supported by two steel outriggers.

The scaffold manufacturer specified 600 pounds of counterweight for this scaffold and load, but the painters had rigged the scaffold using only 200 pounds of counterweight (100 pounds per outrigger). The outriggers were not tied off or otherwise secured.

No personal fall protection equipment was being used by either worker. While the two men were working on the scaffold, their weight caused the outriggers to slip, and the scaffold, rigging, and victims fell to the ground [NIOSH 1989c].