Construction worker died after falling 20-25 feet from a pump-jack scaffold

a 46-year-old construction worker died the day after he sustained injuries from falling approximately 20-25 feet while installing siding on a newly constructed apartment building. OR-FACE received notification of the incident from OR-OSHA; OR-FACE accompanied the investigator during investigation interviews. This report is based on review of investigation documents from OR-OSHA, information obtained during interviews, and follow-up discussions with the OR-OSHA investigator.

The worker who died was the owner of a small siding company. He had three workers assisting him on this project, two of whom had been working for him on various projects for about a year.

The site was a multi-employer construction worksite consisting of four, three-story apartment buildings. The general contractor had hired various sub-contractors, including a siding contractor who in turn hired several siding companies (including the company owned by the deceased) to perform the work over the course of the project. Construction work at the site had begun about nine months prior to the incident. The worker who was fatally injured had been working daily at this site for approximately two months at the time of the incident. Building and roofing construction was complete. Interior work was still underway in various stages of completion, and several specialty trades were working inside the buildings at the time of the incident.

On the day of the incident, the siding subcontractor was installing siding in a breezeway. He and his crew erected the scaffold. However, to work around the concrete stairs and related structures in the breezeway, they used only one pump-jack pole and used the stair landing to support the other end of the scaffold platform. To raise the platform above landing height they placed a stepladder on the landing, and would raise the pumpjack pole on the other side. The siding company owner was working alone at the time of the incident. He apparently was attempting to use a second stepladder placed on top of the scaffold platform to access a high peak above a 3rd floor landing, when he fell to the concrete slab at the bottom of the breezeway. A nearby worker called 911. Emergency responders arrived minutes later and transported the injured siding company owner to a hospital trauma center, where he died the following day.