08.11.2012

Boom lift incident

A man was injured today when the boom of a self-propelled articulated boom lift came down at a job site in Ottawa, Canada.

The man, 45, who has fractured both of his legs along with possible internal injuries, was working at a height of around 10 metres when something that is said to have failed caused the boom to drop to the ground. We have received one photograph but it does not help explain what happened.
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The basket hit the ground

The Ministry of Labour has taken over the investigation from police.

Vertikal Comment

Mechanical failures on aerial lifts are exceptionally rare, thanks to numerous built in safety devices and generous safety margins.

The most common cause of an incident like this is overturning due to the ground giving way or in some cases extending axles not being extended thanks to a disabled interlock.

There are lessons to be learnt any time something like this happens, hopefully the ministry of labour will release details as soon as the inspectors have completed the on site investigation.