Hispanic Laborer Killed When Struck By Falling Plywood on a Commercial Construction Site

Kentucky Case Report: 14KY008
Release Date: April 25, 2014

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 this 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.

SUMMARY

On a clear windy Wednesday, around 11:50 a.m., a 24 year-old Hispanic laborer was helping his brother-in-law load trusses on the ground, when a gust of wind ripped an 8 foot by 4 foot sheet of plywood from another Hispanic laborer’s hands as he was handing the plywood to a co-worker 60 feet above on a commercial construction site roof. The co-worker on the roof tried to grab the sliding plywood by jumping onto it, but could not stop it. The co-worker’s life line prevented him from falling over the edge of the roof. As the plywood reached the edge of the roof the wind whipped it 30 feet from the building, striking the Hispanic laborer on the back of the head just below his hard hat. A crane operator witnessing the events unfolding immediately began blowing his horn trying to warn the laborers on the ground, but it was too late.

Hispanic Laborer Killed when Struck by Falling Plywood on a Commercial Construction Site [PDF 163 KB]