Alten Construction: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Jul 12, 2012: Employee's leg is broken when unsecured sheetrock tips over

At approximately 11:15 a.m. on July 12, 2012, Employee #1, of Alten Construction , Inc., was working on the construction of a new veterinary hospital at the Oakl and Zoo, Oakland, CA. His employer was the general contractor managing the const ruction. Employee #1, a carpenter's apprentice, was working on some interior woo d framing on the second level of the structure. He was sent by a coworker, a tem porary foreman, to locate a power source for the work they were performing. On t he lower level, in the hallway, Employee #1 found an extension cord that could b e used upstairs. No other employees were in the area. The cord was spread out al ong the floor in the hallway, but ran underneath a stack of several pieces of sh eetrock. The stack of sheetrock was leaning on its long edge, against the hallwa y wall. Employee #1, working by himself, attempted to free the cord from under t he sheet rock. Kneeling near the right side of the stack, Employee #1 was steady ing the stack with his left hand, while trying to free the cord with his right h and. Employee #1 lost control of the stack. The stack tipped over onto him. He r equired hospitalization and treatment for a fracture of the right lower leg. Thi s accident was reported to the Cal/OSHA Division by the employer at 12:24 p.m. o n July 12, 2012. Investigation determined that the sheetrock should not have bee n stacked on its edge without being positively secured against tipping over; how ever, the employer allowed materials to be stacked in this manner. In addition, Employee #1 misjudged this hazard when retrieving the extension cord.