Worker dead in fall from Jefferson building

A 39-YEAR-OLD construction worker slipped from the roof of a Thomas Jefferson University Hospital building at 10th and Samson streets Friday morning and fell eight stories to his death, police said.

Police said the man, whose name has not been released, was working on the roof when he fell. He was pronounced at the scene at 10:25 a.m.

A spokesman for the Medical Examiner's Office, Jeff Moran, said an examination as to the cause of death would be performed Saturday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration had begun an investigation into the deadly fall.

Leni Fortson, a spokeswoman for OSHA's Philadelphia area office, declined to comment on the investigation.

Fortson said the deceased man worked for Palmer Masonry Restoration, in Somerton.

The company's website said that safety is "our #1 priority" and that all employees working on its job sites are required to have 30 hours of OSHA construction-safety training and also receive training in "fall protection, suspension scaffolding and Ariel lift equipment" training.

Company officials were unavailable for comment Friday.

Fortson said OSHA initiated a fall-protection campaign in April to prevent deadly falls in the construction industry.

In 2010, more than 10,000 construction workers were injured as a result of falling while working from heights, and more than 250 workers were killed, OSHA said.