Fractures

An employee was installing pipe hanger into the ceiling. The employee was working from a 12-foot step ladder using a full body harness with an MSA beam clamp and self-retracting lifeline attached to a 5-inch I-beam. The anchor point was located approximately 3 to 4 feet to the rear of the employee's position with the employee facing away from the anchor point. The beam clamp and self-retracting lifeline became detached from the 5-inch beam allowing the devices to swing downward towards the employee's position and striking the ladder's lower rung. The worker fell from the ladder landing feet first on the concrete floor below resulting in fractures to both lower extremities.