On Oct. 17, 2013, Fernando Rivera, a journeyman electrician, was seriously injured when he fell from a step ladder approximately 6 ft. onto a concrete pad below at Lebec Cement Plant, a quarry and cement plant owned by National Cement Co. of California Inc. Rivera was standing on the ladder pulling electrical cable into a cable tray located on the outside of the building. The cable tray struck the step ladder after a mounting bracket broke loose, causing Rivera to fall onto the concrete pad. Rivera was transported to a hospital where he died on Oct. 18, 2013, as a result of his injuries. Rivera was wearing a hard hat at the time of the accident.
According to MSHA’s report, the accident occurred because the two self-tapping screws used to mount the cable tray on the right side were not long enough to support the cable tray when electrical cable was placed in it. Both self-tapping screws on the right side mounting bracket pulled out of the sheet metal. The bottom screw also pulled out of a steel beam. The weight of the electrical cable and the physical loading of the cable put additional stress on the cable tray mounts, causing the mounting bracket screws to separate from the sheet metal and steel beam.
Additionally, the step ladder was positioned parallel to the building and the victim was working perpendicular to the ladder, placing his body at an angle to the ladder while performing the work.
