OREGON FATALITY ASSESSMENT 

AND CONTROL EVALUATION 

(OR-FACE) 

www.ohsu.edu/or-face 

Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences 

Fatality Investigation Report OR 2015-12-1 

SPECIAL ALERT – Falls in construction are a recurring contributing factor to 

occupational fatalities in Oregon. 

Construction worker died after falling 20-25 feet from a 

pump-jack scaffold 

SUMMARY 

A 46-year-old owner of a small residential siding 

company died from injuries sustained when he fell 

approximately 20-25 feet from a pump-jack scaffold 

platform onto a concrete slab. The company was a 

subcontractor hired to install siding on a newly 

constructed apartment building. The work was being 

performed using pump-jack scaffolding. 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. 

pump-jack pole 

Figure 1 (above). Breezeway, pump jack pole. 

Figure 2 (below). Breezeway, 3rd floor stair 

landing with temporary railing. 

pump-jack 

pole 

stair 

landing 

Keywords: Construction, fall, pump-jack, Hispanic [NAICS=238170] Oregon FACE Program 

Publication Date: December 2017 OR 2015-12-1 

This report is public information and free to copy Page 1 
 

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

 For any project requiring access to a height, employers should evaluate site-specific 

conditions to determine the most appropriate means of safely accessing the work area. 

 General contractors and sub-contractors should require and ensure the use of fall 

protection appropriate for task and site conditions. 

 If obstacles are encountered that may prevent safe or effective use of a conventional 

method for accessing a height, determine an appropriate alternative method that will 

enable safe completion of the work. Do not take shortcuts. 

 Employers should establish a program that includes provisions for qualified persons to 

conduct regular and frequent inspections. 

 Employers should develop a site-specific safety plan that addresses any particular site 

conditions that may affect safety or affect use of conventional safety equipment. 

 Employers should develop and maintain a safety culture where employees are 

encouraged to voice concerns about unsafe work conditions. 

OR-FACE supports the prioritization of safety interventions using a hierarchy of safety 

controls, where top priorities are hazard elimination or substitution, followed by 

engineering controls, administrative controls (including training and work practices), and 

personal protective equipment. 

INTRODUCTION 

On July 1, 2015, 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 

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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. 

The incident occurred at the last of the four 

buildings to be sided and painted. The siding 

work included applying and attaching building 

wrap and then installing siding boards. The 

victim and his crew of three workers had 

completed siding work on the exterior walls, 

then began work in the breezeway. Information 

obtained during interviews indicated that for 

work on the exterior walls the crew had set up a 

standard pump-jack scaffolding system. This 

included a minimum of three pump-jack poles 

to support scaffold platforms, and personal fall 

arrest. Specifically, the workers reported tying 

off to manufactured anchors that they installed 

on the roof. Given that fall protection equipment 

was available on site, it is not known why they 

were not used for the work in the breezeway 

where the incident occurred. The siding crew 

indicated there had been some discussion of 

using a beam under a sub-roof for a tie-off point 

in a previous breezeway. However, it is not 

known whether any fall protection system had 

been used in the previously sided breezeways. 

The deceased was an experienced construction worker, although the specific number of years he had 

worked in the industry is not known. The site general contractor described him as experienced, 

efficient, and reliable. The siding subcontractor who contracted with him reported that they had a 

long-term working relationship and had worked together many times. 

INVESTIGATION 

On the day of the incident, a four-person crew consisting of the siding company owner and three 

employees set up scaffolding in the breezeway of one of the buildings to install siding on the wall 

within the breezeway of the last of the four buildings to be sided and painted. They arrived on site 

around 8:30 or 9:00 AM, their normal start time, and began their work. Reportedly, the concrete stairs, 

pump-jack pole in 

breezeway 

Figure 3. Exterior wall and breezeway. 

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stair landings, and related structures in the breezeway had hindered the abillity to set up a standard 

scaffold system. This resulted in an incomplete scaffold system set-up around the stairs, with not all of 

the standard scaffold system components used. Instead they used only one pump-jack pole, 

supporting one end of the scaffold platform, and used the stair landing to support the other end of 

the platform. To raise the platform above stair landing height, an 8-foot step ladder was placed on the 

landing to support that end of the platform and the pump-jack pole was raised on the other side. No 

fall protection was used during siding work in this breezeway. 

According to OR-OSHA observations and 

information obtained through interviews, 

building wrap and siding had been installed on 

two lower levels. The crew recalled seeing that 

the platform was level as the work progressed 

to the third level. To complete the top section 

siding required gaining additional height to 

reach the triangle shaped roof peak area above 

the third level landing (see Figure 4). It was 

assumed that to do this, the victim had placed 

a 6-foot step ladder on top of the scaffold 

platform. The victim was working alone at the 

time of the incident, and was not using fall 

protection. The three siding crew members 

who been assisting earlier in the day had been 

asked by a jobsite superintendent to perform a task on another building. Thus, they were not in the 

immediate vicinity at the time of the incident, nor were any other workers in the immediate vicinity. 

Therefore, no witnesses directly observed the specific configuration of the scaffold platform or the 

inferred use of the second step ladder on the platform, nor did anyone see what the victim was doing 

just prior to falling, or what may have triggered the fall. 

Scaffolds and ladders that are not properly installed or secured can tilt or sway and become unstable. 

In this case, two contributing factors may have affected the stability of the work platform and its ability 

to withstand side forces. The scaffold platform was not secured on the stair landing and was 

supported by a step ladder. It is possible that as a result the platform tilted or swayed, causing the 

victim to lose his balance, or he may have fallen because he lost his footing using the second step 

ladder while attempting to reach the peak section. 

Another contractor, who was working around the corner from the breezeway, said he heard a loud 

noise, looked up, and saw the siding company owner and a step ladder falling. It was presumed that 

the falling ladder was the one the victim had attempted to use to reach the peak section, as the other 

step ladder that had been used to support the scaffold platform remained on the stair landing. This 

nearby contractor also recalled seeing the scaffold platform tilted up and angled out from the wall, 

which would be consistent with a fall from the platform. 

peak section 

in breezeway 

Figure 4. Peak section of breezeway wall. 

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The victim fell approximately 20-25 feet to the concrete slab. The ladder fell on top of him when he 

landed on the ground. The nearby contractor instructed another nearby worker to call 911. Emergency 

responders arrived minutes later and transported the injured siding company owner to a hospital 

trauma center. He did not regain consciousness and he died at the hospital the following day. 

Results of the OR-OSHA investigation found that the site safety plan did not include any specifics 

pertaining to the work in the breezeways. Weekly safety meetings were conducted, although meeting 

minutes did not specifically address work in the breezeway. 

CAUSE OF DEATH: Blunt force head and neck injuries. 

RECOMMENDATIONS/DISCUSSION 

 For any project requiring access to a height, employers should evaluate site-specific 

conditions to determine the most appropriate means of safely accessing the work area. 

o When scaffolds are identified as the best method for accessing a height, conduct a preerection assessment to determine all equipment and materials necessary for safe 

installation and use of the scaffold. 

o Alternate methods should be considered when site conditions warrant. For example, for 

the breezeways on this site, an aerial lift could have been used to access heights that 

could not be reached using standard pump-jack scaffolding. 

o Ensure that all necessary equipment, materials, and supplies are readily available on 

site. 

o Ensure that all employees are adequately trained in erecting all of the types of scaffold 

systems they may use on a given job site. 

o When working at heights, ensure that appropriate fall protection methods are 

identified, planned for, and properly used. 

 General contractors and sub-contractors should require and ensure the use of fall 

protection appropriate for task and site conditions. 

o Personal fall arrest systems, including installing roof anchors for tying off when working 

at height, were available on site and were used during siding work on performed on the 

exterior walls. 

o Use of a properly installed fall arrest system in the breezeway where the incident 

occurred likely would have prevented the fatal injury. The employees reported 

discussing possible tie-off locations for breezeways sided earlier at the project site, but a 

system was not selected or implemented. 

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 If obstacles are encountered that may prevent safe or effective use of a conventional 

method for accessing a height, determine an appropriate alternative method that will 

enable safe completion of the work. Do not take shortcuts. 

o In this case, given that the stairs impeded the ability to install a complete pump-jack 

scaffold system, an alternative method for more safely accessing the height should have 

been determined. For example, an aerial lift could have been used to access heights in 

the breezeway that could not be reached using standard pump-jack scaffolding. 

o Do not begin the work unless all applicable scaffold system components are secured in 

place. For a pump-jack scaffold system, this includes at a minimum: 

 Securing poles to the structure with rigid triangular bracing (see example in 

Figure 5); 

 Safe access to scaffolds and scaffold platforms; and 

 Use of fall protection, such as personal fall arrest systems or guardrails, when 

working at heights more than 10 feet above a lower level. 

o Do not use ladders to support a scaffold platform, nor should ladders ever be used on 

top of a scaffold platform. 

 Employers should establish a program that includes provisions for qualified persons to 

conduct regular and frequent inspections. 

o Routine construction site inspections should be conducted, and results documented. 

o Action items identified during inspections should be discussed among all affected 

parties, and corrective action should be taken promptly and documented. For multiemployer worksites such as this one, this should be a shared responsibility. 

o In this case, installed scaffolds should have been inspected prior to use by a qualified 

person, and all appropriate safety provisions should have been in place. Siding work 

should not have continued in the breezeway with the scaffolding configured as it was, 

and with no fall protection in place. 

 Employers should develop a site-specific safety plan that addresses any particular site 

conditions that may affect safety or affect use of conventional safety equipment. 

o In this case, the written safety plan available on site did not address any specific 

conditions of this job site, for example, siding work in the breezeways. 

o Safety meetings also provide an opportunity to discuss site-specific conditions and 

concerns. In this case, although weekly safety meetings were held, records did not 

indicate that breezeway work was addressed. 

o On multi-employer worksites such as this one, all employers on site share the 

responsibility for protecting workers from known hazards. Effective inter-employer 

safety communication practices should be established involving all employers at a 

given site. 

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 Employers should develop and maintain a safety culture where employees are 

encouraged to voice concerns about unsafe work conditions. 

o If unsafe conditions, equipment, or actions are observed, this should be communicated 

to appropriate parties and work should be stopped until corrections are made. 

Figure 5. Example of scaffold pole properly secured to 

building (from OR-OSHA publication, “Supported Scaffolds”). 

REFERENCES 

Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (OR-OSHA). 2015. Supported scaffolds: Requirements 

and best practices for the construction industry. Available online: 

http://osha.oregon.gov/OSHAPubs/4904.pdf 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Scaffolding eTool/Supported Scaffolds/Pump Jack. 

Available online: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/scaffolding/supported/pumpjack.html 

OR-OSHA. Fall protection for construction activities. 2017. Available online: 

http://osha.oregon.gov/OSHAPubs/2824.pdf 

Oregon OSHA. 2016. Fact Sheet: Fall protection trigger heights for the construction industry. Available 

online: 

http://osha.oregon.gov/OSHAPubs/factsheets/fs64.pdf 

Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division. 2003. Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 437, 

Division 3, Subdivision C, 437-003-0920, 1926.20, General safety and health provisions. Available 

online: 

http://osha.oregon.gov/OSHARules/div3/div3C.pdf 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION 

OR-FACE/Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences 

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) 

3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, L606 

Portland OR 97239-3098 

Phone: (503) 494-2281 

Email: orface@ohsu.edu 

Website: http://www.ohsu.edu/or-face 

Oregon Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (OR-FACE) is a project of the Oregon Institute of Occupational 

Health Sciences at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). OR-FACE is supported by a cooperative agreement 

with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (grant #U60OH008472) through the 

Occupational Public Health Program (OPHP) of the Public Health Division of the Oregon Health Authority. 

OR–FACE reports are for information, research, or occupational injury control only. Safety and health practices may 

have changed since the investigation was conducted and the report was completed. Persons needing regulatory 

compliance information should consult the appropriate regulatory agency. 

The following report is the product of our Cooperative State partner and is presented here in its original unedited form from the 

state. The findings and conclusions in each report are those of the individual Cooperative State partner and do not necessarily 

reflect the views or policy of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 

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