Worker jury-rigs stool to reach light fixture, falls to his death
October 9, 2009 by Fred HosierPosted in: Falls, Fatality, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, OSHA news
Next time you want to address proper ladder use and fall protection with workers, you might want to use this story about a man who fell to his death when he was trying to reach a light fixture.
An OSHA investigation says Ismael Octtaviani-Mercado died from a 31-foot fall at the Palm Beach International Airport.
Octtaviani-Mercado had jury-rigged a stool to remove a light fixture, then tumbled over a rail and fell three stories.
Using the stool placed him higher than the nearby rail. Investigators believe he lost his footing and went over the rail.
Octtaviani-Mercado was working on an air surveillance radar tower that had been decommissioned after heavy damage caused by hurricanes in 2004.
He decided on his own to go to the third level to salvage light fixtures for use on an active tower. The fixtures are expensive, and it was common practice to salvage them for use elsewhere.
He was working alone when he fell.
OSHA doesn’t have the authority to fine other federal agencies, but it can perform investigations like this one.
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Tags: died from fall, fall protection, jury-rig
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October 9th, 2009 at 8:42 am
“OSHA doesn’t have the authority to fine other federal agencies, but it can perform investigations like this one.”
There is something wrong with that… but then again, if OSHA fines go to the general coffers it is truly “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.
October 12th, 2009 at 11:03 am
“OSHA doesn’t have the authority to fine other federal agencies, but it can perform investigations like this one.”
I happen to agree that one government agency should not be able to fine another as the end result is the people, you and me, are the ones that really pay the fine. What does concern me however is that if this was a private business OSHA would have found that the company was at fault since they do have the authority to fine them.
Maybe I am off base but I read one article after another about how OSHA fines companies for violations when the employees take it upon themselves to do unsafe acts, but in this case they find “No OSHA rules were violated”, as stated in the OSHA investigation link above, and just state that they need to put a program in place to prevent it in the future.
Is this the real way that most investigations go, if it is then my opinions have been incorrect but for some reason i doubt it. It will be very interesting to see if anyone else has had a similar experience with an OSHA investigation, I for one would be interested in reading about some of those.
October 12th, 2009 at 11:54 am
I would like to specifically know about the working alone issue. Were there any specific sitings for the lone worker actions?
October 12th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
He decided on his own to go to the third level to salvage light fixtures for use on an active tower.
He was working alone when he fell.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
OSHA fines would change the way the governmental agency was doing business. The EPA can levy a fine on a governmental entity so why shouldn’t OSHA be able to? Governmental agencies have to deal with budgets and base funding. If the fine came from their base and all of a sudden they didn’t have enough money to accomplish all they wanted to do, do you think they wouldn’t sit up and take notice? You bet they would. I say let OSHA fine other agencies.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Osha rules were violated. The employee has to be trained in the safe use and operations of ladders to perform thier tasks. Obviously, this person disregarded the training and decided to take a short cut to his death.
If companies were held accountable for the training and then they perform the disciplinary action to keep the workers informed and trained, the job-site has way fewer and sometimes no injuries. Companies pay the fines and then gamble on the repeat offense. When they do get nailed, it is costly however, there is so much beauracracy in the appeals process as well. More severe penalties need to be in place and better inspectors with thourough training of the hazards associated with the tasks that are being performed instead of just a robotic standards inspection.
December 23rd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
If this employee was trained properly, he may still have chosen to work in this manner. Far too many people are over-confident in their own abilities and don’t believe something that stupid would happen to them.
I think if OSHA was serious about minimizing injury to workers, they would focus on workers rather than companies. I believe that if everyone working on my jobsite was OSHA 10 certified and did something stupid (like break OSHA rules) and got themselves injured, then OSHA should fine the worker instead of the company. As things stand right now, if a worker gets injured violating a safety rule, that worker at a minimum is at home collecting workers comp. The worker may even be able to win a lawsuit against a contractor for his injuries. There is a big gap in responsibility between the worker and the business.
Train the workers and fine the workers.
July 6th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Mike, I somewhat agree with you. I would add that companies must provide documented training, proper tools, PPE, and the time needed to perform tasks safely. If the company is doing its part, it should be the employees that get fined for violations, not the company.