One Incident - Many Lessons

Greg Reid DROPS

Non- oil and gas incident that occurred in Aberdeen city centre. A roof slate fell from scaffolding and struck two workers some 4 storeys below. The slate struck the first IP on the shoulder (bruising and grazing) before deflecting to strike the second IP in a slicing manner in the leg. Graphic images portray the injuries – particularly the second IP who suffered a deep laceration to the leg.  Several observations… evidence why a person’s height should never be deducted from DROPS calculator (neither injury was to head)…  Deflected objects (or bounced objects) may still retain sufficient energy to cause harm… DROPS calculator unsuitable for sharp objects.