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Illinois Scaffolding Accidents (Part A)

If you work in construction, you are familiar with scaffolding. According to the United States Department of Labor, 65% of all construction workers use scaffolding. Construction workers aren't the only ones who use scaffolds to do their jobs. Painters and window washers also use scaffolding in their work.

If you have been involved in a scaffolding accident, or if you have lost a loved one as a result of a scaffolding accident, you need the right kind of information to help guide you through this difficult period of your life.

Scaffolding Safety and Your Scaffolding Accident

There are several types of scaffolds that can be used on job sites. These include:

• Ÿ Supported scaffolding; and
• Ÿ Suspended scaffolding.

Supported scaffolds are built from the ground up and have rigid supports such as brackets, poles or legs to form the scaffold. The frame scaffold is the most commonly used type of supported scaffold. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that frame scaffolding have either a personal fall arrest system or a guardrail system that meets OSHA's specifications.

OSHA requirements for frame scaffolding include:

• Ÿ That vertical safety lines be attached to safe points of anchorage without abrasive or sharp edges nearby;
• Ÿ That vertical safety lines' points of anchorage are not on the scaffolding system itself;
• Ÿ That guardrail systems, when used, must surround the fronts and the sides of the scaffolding; and
• Ÿ That guardrail systems' tops must be between 36 and 45 inches high.

Suspended scaffolding is suspended from above using ropes or another type of flexible material. Two point scaffolding, also called swing stage scaffolds, are the most commonly used type of suspended scaffolding. OSHA requirements for two point scaffolding include the same safety requirements for frame scaffolding as detailed above.

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