23-Story Fall Kills Dallas Worker

Dallas NBC affiliate reported that a worker installing metal louvers on a downtown high-rise building fell 23 stories when his scaffold collapsed and his "safety harness failed somehow."

The article also points out that Texas has taken the lead in construction fatalities and that OSHA (as previously discussed in this blog) has reported its intention to send teams of compliance officers into Texas to "fix things."

My own analysis indicates that the biggest problem is the lack of training. This is exacerbated by the use of "independent contractors" as a means to avoid high workers compensation costs. Since the "independent contractors" are not (technically) employees, no training is provided. And, these "independent contractors" are also expected to provide their own PPE, because they aren't employees of that contractor.

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