Construction eTool
Falls » Rebar Accident
While standing on a rebar column he is in the process of plumbing, a worker in full body harness attempts to hook his positioning lanyards onto a location over his head.
The positioning device hooks slip, and the worker falls approximately 8 feet to the footings below, where he is impaled through the groin on a protruding rebar.
Though the rebar is capped, the force of the worker's fall pushes the cap clear to the ground, and bends the rebar nearly 45 degrees.
This is an example of the rebar caps used at this site. Because it was not steel reinforced, it was insufficient to provide protection in a fall from elevation.
An employee passing by the accident site gives perspective to the height involved. The victim was only standing approximately at the top of this image, yet the force of his fall bent the rebar like a coat hanger. Luckily, he was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital and survived his injuries.