Incident date: 2022-07-22
NAICS industry code: 238110

An employee was working above a water treatment plant that was under construction. The employee was installing 2 x 4s for the concrete formwork. The employee was wearing a fall protection harness with a double self retracting lifeline with two separate snap hooks attached to the D ring on the backside of the harness. There were two snap hooks attached to a rebar chain assembly to each of the D rings on the front side of the harness that transitioned to one snap hook. The employee climbed up to the top of the water treatment plant using a ladder that was located on the exterior wall. The employee then walked on top of the plant and hooked the snap hook located on the frontside of the harness to the anchorage connector that was attached to an overhang bracket. The employee then placed his feet on the vertical wall and lowered himself down and was suspended. The bolt that was holding the anchorage connector to the overhang bracket then broke off. The employee was not able to attach his second snap hook before falling 18 feet to the ground below. The employee sustained facial fractures and well as head and lower spine fractures.

Hazard classification:
code_event: title: Other fall to lower level 16 to 20 feet
code_source: title: Structures and surfaces, unspecified
code_nature: title: Fractures
code_body: title: Head and trunk
severity: moderate