Window Cleaning Rig Drops On Worker

A worker was injured when equipment fell from window-washing apparatus on the Hancock Building.

Worker Hurt By Gear Falling From Hancock Building Window Washing Apparatus (Boston) – A worker was injured outside the Hancock Building Saturday morning when a piece of scaffolding equipment fell and hit him. The 62-year-old supervisor for Boston Properties suffered shoulder and arm injuries after equipment fell from the window-washing apparatus when one end let go and tipped. The apparatus was suspended about 15-foot off the ground on Clarendon Street when the equipment fell. The man was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital with what was described as non-life-threatening injuries, according to Boston EMS.

The John Hancock Tower, officially named Hancock Place and colloquially known as The Hancock, is a 60-story, 790 ft (240 m) skyscraper in Boston.

A window-washing rig on the John Hancock Tower injured a worker on the ground Saturday morning, after one side of it suddenly dropped, the Boston Globe reports. Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald told Boston.com the unidentified man was working on scaffolding from an L-shaped staging area on the ground, when an attached window-washing platform, extended about 15 feet in the air, fell over, hitting the worker. He did not suffer life-threatening injuries and was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The incident occurred around 10:17 a.m. “It weighed a good deal,” MacDonald said. MacDonald said he did not know the cause of the accident and could not identify the company or the worker.

A window-washing rig on the John Hancock Tower hanging about 20 feet high struck a worker on the ground this morning after one side of it suddenly dropped, according to the Boston Fire Department. Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said the worker, who suffered non life threatening injuries when the incident occurred at 10:17, works for the window-washing company. Boston EMS confirmed that he was transferred by ambulance to Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He did not know whether anyone was in the rig at the time.

“[The rig] is parallel with the building and one end shifts, so it was almost at a 45 degree angle,” MacDonald said. MacDonald said he did not know if the worker on the ground was adjusting the rig’s position when it dropped or the specific cause for the accident, and he could not identify the company or the worker. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident.