'I tried to help him': Coroner's inquest probes worker's fatal fall

No one saw Adam Carleton fall on Feb. 5, 2018.

That day, the 33-year-old insulator for Grandview Insulation Contractor Inc. was insulating a heating pipe on the fourth floor of the new Irving Oil headquarters.

Shortly after 1 p.m., a sprinkler fitter named Wayne Steeves heard the sound of a ladder falling to the ground.

He looked down to see Carleton lying on the floor a distance away.

"I thought maybe he broke an arm or broke a wrist," Steeves said. "Then I saw him start to convulse and roll over on his stomach."

Carleton died the following day at the Saint John Regional Hospital from a head injury suffered in the fall.

A coroner's inquest is underway in Saint John to determine how Carleton — remembered by co-worker Nick Melvin as the sort of fun, hardworking guy you "wanted to work with" — died.

New Brunswick Chief Coroner Gregory Forestell is presiding over the inquest, with Crown Prosecutor Chris Titus acting as counsel to the coroner, and lawyer Jamie Lemesurier representing the construction services company EllisDon/FCC.

Titus stated Monday that 13 or so witnesses are expected to be called.

'I just freaked out'

The inquest heard that safety protocols at the Irving site on King's Square dictated that in the event of an accident, workers were to proceed to the first aid station and sound three blasts on an air horn to summon the in-house first aid team.

That, Steeves said, didn't happen.

"Were you aware of what you were supposed to do?" asked Titus.

"Yes," Steeves said.

"How come that didn't happen?"

"I just freaked out," Steeves said. "Everything went out of my mind."

Co-workers attempted to take care of Carleton as he lay on the ground, Steeves said, trying to stabilize his seizing body and calling 911.

'There was no helping him'

Brian Lent — Carleton's foreman, who had given Carleton a lift to work that morning — took his sweater off and placed it under Carleton's head, where a pool of blood was forming.

"I tried to help him," Lent said, becoming emotional. "But there was no helping him, I don't think."

Lent said that after Carleton's death, he ordered eight scissor lifts, or elevating platforms, to be used by insulators in lieu of ladders.

While scissor lifts are expensive and can't be used in all work situations, they are more stable than the alternatives, Lent said.

"I don't want anything else to happen," Lent said. "They're working on scissor lifts when they can. ... If they're working on a ladder, another guy holds the bottom of the ladder," he said.

"I don't want anyone to fall and get hurt. "

Hard hats mandatory

Carl Seeley, the health and safety co-ordinator at FCC Construction, stated that all workers were required to take "fall arrest training" to minimize the impact of accidents.

Carleton had completed the training just a few months prior to his death and was wearing safety gear, including a hard hat, at the time of his death.

While hard hats are mandatory on the site, they are designed to withstand impacts from above — not to protect workers in a fall.

Workers are not required to wear straps that would keep their hard hats in place in a fall.

'Mix-up' with the location

Seeley said workers were advised that, because of the recent construction, some 911 operators might not be familiar with the location of the site.

In the event of an accident, Seeley said, workers were told to let the 911 operator know that the address was 30 King Square South.

Still, according to responding paramedic Jeremy Marsh, there was "a mix-up when [the call] came through."

"The call said it was to the Union Street Irving building — but  we knew it was probably at the tower," Marsh said.

Paramedics still arrived within minutes.

"We were never thrown off course," Marsh said.

Marsh observed blood coming from Carleton's nose and ears, and a two-inch laceration on his forehead over the right eye.

He was exhibiting signs of swelling in the brain: alternating between seizing and posturing — an involuntary reflex that is a sign of serious brain injury.

Paramedics spent 35 minutes on the scene, assessing Carleton, loading him on the board and getting him into the ambulance.

Because of the way he was moving, Marsh said, it was necessary to use police handcuffs for "about 30 seconds" to restrain his arms so that he could be loaded on the stretcher. 

They left the scene at 2:05 p.m. and were at the hospital by 2:11 p.m. Carleton's condition continued to deteriorate, and he was taken off life support the following day.

Inquest continues

The coroner and the jury of three women and two men are hearing evidence to determine the facts of Carleton's death.

The jury will then make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances.

Three days have been set aside for the inquest, although it could conclude sooner than that.

The inquest resumes Tuesday at the Saint John Law Courts at 9 a.m.