On an apartment construction job in North Texas, an electrician Carlos knelt down and began to feed an extension cord from the second story balcony down to the ground so it could be plugged in below. Carlos placed his hand on the temporary guardrail that had been constructed as a fall protection safety precaution. Suddenly, the guardrail gave way propelling Carlos head over heels to the ground below. The impact broke his back leaving him a paraplegic.
The faulty temporary guardrail
At another apartment complex job in Lewisville, a plumber named Jerry was at work inside a second story unit. Jerry was waiting on a delivery of plumbing equipment for the construction project. When he hears a honk, he walks to the second story balcony and places his hand on the temporary guardrail as he looks down to see if his delivery truck arrives. The next thing he knows he is falling straight down, guard rail in hand. The fall shatters Jerry ankle and hind foot joint ending his twenty plus year career as a Master Plumber.
Improperly secured temporary guardrail
On a new apartment construction job in Lubbock, a painter is told there is left over paint on a balcony on the third floor. It is a typical windy West Texas day. When the painter opens the door to the balcony, the wind effect pulls the door violently outward along with the painter. As the painter is thrown to the balcony he reaches for what is supposed to be there—the guard rail. But someone has removed it in order to stock materials for the upper floor, the painter is propelled off the balcony breaking his spine leaving him permanently paralyzed.
These are just a few examples of cases Miller Weisbrod attorneys have handled involving improperly constructed/maintained guardrails. OSHA 1926.952 sets that standard for guardrail construction and maintenance. The guardrail system must have a top rail that is 42 inches above the walking/working level—in order to prevent someone from being able to fall over the top of the rail. The system should have a mid-rail that is 21 inches from the working/walking level—in order to prevent someone from slipping underneath the rails. And the guardrail system must be capable of withstanding, without failure, a force of at least 200 pounds applied in any outward or downward direction along the top edge of the rail.
We see time after time, guardrails that are constructed in such a way that they do not withstand anywhere near the 200 pounds of pressure, allowing the rails to fail and send workers tumbling to the ground. The most common incidence is where guard rails are constructed or replaced by nailing the rails to the outside of the building rather than on the inside or onto an independent wooden member. This allows the guard rail to be pushed out (often with little force depending upon what it is nailed into) when someone places their hand on it for balance or just resting part of their body weight on it.
Other guardrail negligence occurs when guardrails are removed by trades for work or material stocking—the repeat offenders are typical the framing or stucco crews that remove the guardrails to place waterproofing wrap or stucco around balconies or landings or drywall contractors loading in their materials. Many times these guardrails are replaced incorrectly (as described above) or many times not replaced at all!
Our lawsuits are typically against either framing subcontractors or the general contractor for allowing the dangerous condition to exist or failing to maintain the guardrails correctly. Many general contractors contractually require the framing subcontractor to construct and maintain the guardrails throughout part of or the entire project.
Below are two excerpts from the cross examination of framing superintendents where guardrails were not maintained to withstand proper force:
Miller Weisbrod has partnered with law firms across the state of Texas on a referral and joint venture basis to pursue cases of catastrophic injury and wrongful death arising from construction and work site incidents. We would welcome the opportunity to work with you to obtain justice for your clients injured or killed on the job.
If you were seriously injured or a loved one died in an oil field or construction accident caused by a negligent contractor or subcontractor or OSHA safety violations, we encourage you to call our offices in Dallas today at 214.987.0005 or toll free at 888.987.0005 for a free consultation. You may also contact us by e-mail today for answers to your important questions or to schedule an appointment.
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