Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report for Minnesota: Cement Finisher Dies After Falling From the Wing-Wall of a Highway Bridge, FACE-92-MN-22.

摘要

A 45-year-old male cement finisher (victim) died of complications from injuries he received after falling from the wing-wall of a highway bridge. The project he was working on involved expansion joint removal and replacement on several bridges spanning a section of highway. The incident occurred at approximately 7:00 p.m.; he was working alone and using a trowel to finish the concrete near the joint replacement after the formwork had been pulled. He was standing at the top of the wing-wall when he fell approximately six feet onto some concrete construction rubble at the base of the wall. He was not using any type of fall protection at the time of the incident. He was found lying face down in the rubble, conscious and breathing, by employees who had been working on another bridge. Later, in the hospital, he remembered slipping from the wall but was unable to remember any other details of the incident. Surgery for neck and spinal cord injuries was performed three days after the incident; the victim died approximately three weeks later from resulting complications. MN FACE investigators concluded that, in order to prevent similar occurrences, the following guidelines should be followed: (1) use fall protection at any height when performing tasks which require reaching over empty space and present a fall hazard.