A House Painter Dies When He Falls Through a Roof Opening

SUMMARY

A house painter died when he fell through a roof opening on a private residence. For color matching purposes, the victim had gone up on the roof to retrieve a paint sample from a weather vane which was located on the roof of the residence garage adjacent to the roof opening. As he crossed the roof to the weather vane, he tripped and fell through the opening 15 feet to the breezeway floor below. There were no safeguards in place to prevent the fall through the opening. The work crew included the company owner, the owner’s son, and the victim. They were on and off the roof several times over the past four weeks on the job. Key contributing factors identified in this investigation include unguarded roof openings, lack of employee training, and lack of a job hazard assessment to determine potential risk factors employees may encounter.

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