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Skylight Accidents: Why They Happen
By Hal Swindell

In 2005, according to OSHA statistics, there were 767 falls resulting in death and 79,310 falls to a lower level causing serious injury. Many of these falls were through skylights. Your first reaction is to wonder how in the world can anybody fall through a skylight?

Here at Safety Rail Source we unfortunately hear of these sad tragedies almost daily and the stories behind them. First of all, you need to understand that most skylights are made of molded plastic When first made, these materials generally will withstand substantial impact such as a falling body. However, once installed on the rooftop, the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays beat down on the skylight and through time, change the chemical makeup of the plastic. The skylight becomes brittle and can no longer withstand an impact. This sets the stage for skylight tragedies.

But how do these accidents happen? The answer is simple; either a person sits on the skylight, slips and falls into it or walks on it.

You may now ask how someone can walk on a skylight? Well, if you have been on a roof that has either corrugated or standing seam skylights, you know that these are flat, translucent panels that actually look like patches in the roof.

Therein lays the danger. You should be able to walk on a roof patch so you do and down you go. These flat type skylights are particularly dangerous when the roof is snow covered; they can’t be seen at all.

I offer you a couple of true stories of skylight accidents. An HVAC mechanic was up on a roof preparing to power wash coils on an air conditioning unit. He positioned his power washer next to the air conditioner he was to work on. The washer hose was kinked and this poor fellow was backing up away from the air conditioner to straighten the hose. He backed right into the skylight behind him and down he went. Was this man stupid? No, it was an accident. Fortunately, he held onto the hose as he was tumbling down which broke his fall and prevented his death.

Story number two involves an electrician. There was a bank of lights out in a warehouse and the company electrician was called to troubleshoot the problem.

He quickly determined that the problem was wiring on the roof. He climbed to the roof through the hatchway and set his tool pouch on a rooftop HVAC unit near a skylight. He proceeded to make the electrical repair.
Once the repair was made, this poor fellow walked over to the skylight and leaned over it to see if the bank of lights was on. He lost his balance and went headfirst crashing through the skylight. This man was not so fortunate and never returned to his family again.

Surely people don’t want to fall through skylights but accidents happen. Fortunately, there are products available to prevent these accidents. Safety Rail Source manufacturers low cost, EZ install OSHA compliant skylight screens for all types of skylights including domed, corrugated and standing seam types.
They can be purchased with galvanized or stainless steel screening. In most models, the attachment is engineered not to penetrate the roofing membrane.

In the case where the skylight is too large for a screen, an EZ install stand alone railing system is available to surround and protect the skylight. Again with this product, there are no roofing membrane penetrations.
You can see OSHA compliant safety products at www.safetyrailsource.com or for personalized help, call 877-723-3766. FSM