Storage Racks Make Lousy Ladders

A 41-year-old contract worker is building a wooden racking system and climbs up about seven feet (two meters) to nail a board at the top. Other workers hear a noise and find the carpenter sitting on the concrete floor beside the rack, complaining of a sore head and neck.

He tells them he fell from the rack. He is transported to hospital where his condition deteriorates. He dies one day after lapsing into a coma.

A 58-year-old truck driver/yard worker dies from traumatic head injuries after falling four feet (1.2 meters) from a storage rack. The victim had climbed onto the storage rack to retrieve a piece of molding for a customer. He falls backwards, striking his head and dies later in hospital.

Ironically, there was a ladder available within five feet of where the worker fell.