Injury and Tower Stability After a Fall From Height
An operative on a 7 m mobile tower platform loses footing while manoeuvring a long section of ducting and falls, but is caught by his lanyard attached to the platform guardrail. He is conscious but dazed and complaining of back pain, and is suspended against the tower. The ducting has swung out and is hanging from the platform edge, shifting load. The tower is visibly leaning a few degrees. Two other operatives are on the ground; one wants to climb up immediately to cut him free. Wind is picking up and the site is beside a live road.
1. Set out the immediate priorities and the correct sequence of actions.
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Priorities in order: prevent further harm, then rescue, then preserve the scene.
- Stop work and make the area safe from the ground. Keep the road side clear; if the leaning tower or swinging ducting could fall toward the road, get people back and consider traffic control.
- Call emergency services immediately - a fall-arrest suspension with back pain is a medical emergency (suspension trauma and spinal injury risk). Give location, height, and that the casualty is suspended.
- Do not let the second operative climb the leaning tower. An untrained, improvised climb risks a second casualty and adds load to an already unstable structure. Rescue from height must be by trained personnel with proper equipment.
- Stabilise if it can be done safely from the ground - secure the swinging ducting and, if the tower can be safely guyed or the load removed without putting anyone at risk, do so; otherwise keep clear until competent help arrives.
- Reassure the casualty, keep him still, monitor consciousness and breathing until rescue arrives.
2. What must happen after the casualty is recovered, and what does the incident require?
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After recovery:
- Do not disturb the tower. It is a leaning, potentially unstable structure and the scene of an incident. Barricade it, keep people away, and have it assessed/dismantled by a competent person before any further use.
- Preserve evidence: photographs of the tower, the lanyard and anchor point, the ducting, the platform, and the lean; note weather and time.
- Report the incident through the site's accident/incident process and to the enforcing authority as required for a reportable injury; record it in the accident book.
- Investigate causes: lanyard anchored to a guardrail (guardrails are generally not rated anchor points), load shift from the ducting, and whether the tower was within its wind/load limits. Feed findings into a revised method and briefing before work resumes.