Weslar, Inc.: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Jan 5, 2013: Worker falls through second floor, fractures pelvis, spine

At approximately 8:15 a.m. on January 5, 2013, Employee #1, a carpenter employed by Weslar Inc., was working at a residential construction site. He was performi ng the duties of a framer, including raising studs on the second floor. The empl oyee was attempting to retrieve a 2-foot by 4-foot piece of lumber that was goin g to be used as a top plate when he fell approximately 10 feet 3 inches through the opening on a garage overhang to the concrete floor below. The employee was t ransported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, hospitalized, and treated fo r fractures to his pelvis and spine. Both the Los Angeles Fire Department and th e employer notified Cal/OSHA of this event on January 5, 2013. Cal/OSHA's inspec tion, which began on February 13, 2013, determined that the overhang's opening w as sheeted on the underside with half-inch plywood, but the plywood was not inte nded to guard the opening. The supervisor was not in the immediate vicinity when the fall occurred.

Incident on Apr 13, 2006: Employee is injured in fall

At approximately 1:00 p.m. on April 13, 2006, Employee #1 was helping an industr ial truck operator unload trusses from an industrial truck onto stud walls. Empl oyee #1 lost his balance and fell approximately 18 feet from the unprotected sid e of the top plate to the ground, which was covered with construction debris. He was admitted to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center for treatment of skull, ri bs and wrist fractures.

Incident on Jul 12, 2005: Carpenter is injured in fall from scaffold

On July 12, 2005, Employee #1, a carpenter, was framing a three-story residentia l structure. He was working around the eaves installing "false tails" (corbel ta ils) to the trusses of the frames as part of the framing of the structure. Emplo yee #1 jumped from the corner of the roof onto a bracket scaffold that was attac hed to the top plate. The guardrails on this scaffold had been previously remove d. When the scaffold planks tipped over, Employee #1 slipped off the scaffold an d fell 30 ft. Employee #1 and the site supervisor both stated that the guardrail s had been in place that morning.

Incident on Aug 26, 2003: Employee is injured in fall from roof

At about 1:10 p.m. on August 26, 2003, Employee #1, a 42-year-old carpenter was performing a regularly assigned task of laying plywood to install it on the roof of the two- story home under construction. Employee #1 slipped off the roof at a height of 20 ft 5 in. while placing the first row of plywood. He was not tied off to prevent a fall from the unprotected eve of the roof of the structure. Emp loyee #1 sustained two broken ribs on the right side and tendon damage to the ri ght shoulder. Employee #1 was hospitalized at Henry Mayo Memorial Hospital.

Incident on Apr 30, 2003: Employee injured when struck by falling beams

On April 30, 2003, Employee #1 and two coworkers were "making beam packages" whi ch consisted of locating beams that were individually wrapped in plastic and loc ated in stacks near a retaining wall. They walked around looking for numbers on the beam packages that corresponded with the numbers on a list. The accident occ urred when Employee #1 was walking alongside stacks of beams that were banded to gether with three metal bands. The beams were 18 feet or 20 feet long by 15 inch es wide by 5.125 inches thick and were stacked six high in two stacks. One of th e coworkers cut two of the metal bands that were around the stacks of beams. Whe n the third metal band was cut, one of the stacks fell over and the beams landed on the right leg of Employee #1. The coworkers were able to lift the beams off Employee #1 and he was transported to Antelope Valley Hospital where he was hosp italized for 6 days.

Incident on Nov 25, 2002: Employee injured in fall from ladder

On November 25, 2002, Employee #1 was on a 12-ft aluminum A-frame ladder install ing furring strips on a building under construction. Prior to using the ladder, he had placed two wooden 2-in. by 6-in. blocks under the feet of the ladder on t he side closest to the building. He indicated this was done to level the ladder due to uneven ground and a missing safety shoe from one leg of the ladder. While Employee #1 was descending with a tool bag on each shoulder, the ladder shifted and he fell approximately 10 ft, head first, to the ground. He was hospitalized with back fractures.

Incident on Sep 13, 2002: Employee is injured when struck in face by fall wall

At approximately 11:00 a.m. on September 13, 2002, Employee #1 was working on th e first floor level of West Building Number 5 when a coworker on the ground saw a 25-in. by 41-in. wooden frame wall falling from the fourth floor. He yelled to Employee #1, but just as he looked up the falling wall struck him on the face a nd nose. Employee #1 was transported to Henry Mayo Hospital, where he received s titches to close head lacerations and underwent surgery on his nose. He was rele ased three days after the accident.

Incident on Jul 25, 2002: Employee is injured when shot by pneumatic nailer

On July 25, 2002, Employee #1, a journeyman framing carpenter, was installing st uds, top plates, and headers on the second floor of a building under constructio n. He stopped to take a break when the lunch truck arrived at approximately 9:15 a.m. Employee #1 was walking away from the work area when he realized that he h ad left his pneumatic Hitachi strip nailer (Model NR83A) lying out in the open a nd exposed to the hot sun. He returned to the area, picked up the gun, and start ed to walk away with the gun in his hand. The hose became caught on something, c ausing his hand to move backward. Within seconds the hose released and the gun h it the side of his right knee, shooting a 16D, 3.25-in.-long nail into his leg. Employee #1 told a coworker that he had shot himself and the coworker summoned a Field Superintendent. The Superintendent came over, looked at the injury, and a sked him how he felt. He responded that his leg felt numb, and the Superintenden t said that he would take him to the doctor. Employee #1 hopped down the stairs to the supervisor's truck and was driven to the Santa Clarita Valley Medical Wal k-In Clinic. He was examined by a doctor, had his leg X-rayed, and was administe red four shots. The doctor tried several times to pull out the nail before Emplo yee #1 told him to stop and that he wanted to see a bone specialist. The doctor agreed, and sent him to Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, since it was t he closest hospital with a surgeon available. The supervisor drove Employee #1 t o the hospital, where he was admitted at approximately 1:00 p.m. At about 5:40 p .m., he underwent surgery on his knee to remove the nail. Employee #1 was releas ed at approximately 5 p.m. on the following day.

Incident on Aug 7, 2002: Employee injures eye when struck by nail

On August 7, 2002, Employee #1, a carpenter for a framing contractor, was instal ling HVAC cans in a single-family, two-story home under construction. He was sta nding on a 6-ft ladder on the second floor, blocking HVAC cans into the trusses of a 9-ft-tall bedroom ceiling. Employee #1 was driving an 8-penny nail through the sheet metal of the HVAC can when the nail glanced off and struck his right e ye, causing blunt force trauma injuries. He was not wearing eye protection at th e time of the accident.

Incident on Aug 8, 2001: Employee falls nine feet from beam

On August 8, 2001, Employee #1 was standing on a beam 9 ft high and 6 in. wide g luing a joist. He had with him a hand held circular saw for trimming the joist o nce they were tight. Employee #1 fell to the ground due to a loss of footing and his wrist landed on the saw. He was hospitalized for his injuries.

Incident on Aug 26, 1995: Employee injured in fall from roof

At 12:50 p.m. on August 26, 1995, Employee #1, of Westar, Inc., Newhall, CA, was sheeting the roof of a house under construction and had completed the front of an attached garage. He stepped over some salvage remaining at the peak and, inte nding to step on a rafter, he missed his footing and fell about 10 feet to the c oncrete floor. Paramedics were called and he was transported to Henry Margo Newh all Memorial Hospital, where he was hospitalized for multiple fractures.