Lost Time Injury (LTI): Fall on Staircase

What happened?

A crewman on a vessel lost his balance going down some stairs and fell, resulting in a fractured ankle. His foot got caught in a gap as he landed at the bottom of the stairs. He suffered 3 broken bones and his foot was dislocated. He was evacuated by helicopter to hospital, where surgery was performed a number of days after the event.

What went wrong?

• The injured person lost footing when descending staircase:
  • he was not rushing, and it was stated he was not showing any signs of pressure or stress prior to the event
  • there was no significant vessel movement (wave height 2mHs, wind NE 25knots)
  • person stated he was holding the handrail;
• His safety shoes were in a poor condition and did not meet company standard (ankle height).

What were the causes?

• Immediate causes:
  • person lost footing and fell forward
  • complacency/lack of situational awareness
  • potentially poor standard of footwear, however soles of shoes were not excessively worn;
• Underlying causes:
  • potential for tiredness/fatigue – the incident occurred on a nightshift
  • failure to identify that the gap at the bottom of the staircase may present a hazard. Although it should be noted that the stairs were classified in accordance with local regulatory standards.

What lessons were learned?

• Worn out personal protective equipment (PPE) should be checked regularly and replaced when required;
• Never rush on stairways and always keep one hand firmly on the handrail, utilising the trailing hand technique where possible.

What actions were taken?

• Additional warning signage was placed at top of the staircase;
• Review of instructions/expectations regarding company standard of safety footwear;
• Improvement modification was added to staircase in order to prevent a person’s foot from becoming caught between the single protruding step and the staircase.

Members may wish to review the following incidents:

• Badly sprained ankle resulting in LTI
• Lost time injury – person slipped on the stairs and broke his arm
• Recent slips, trips and falls involving stairs