Window Washer Injured In Fall At Newton-Wellesley Hospital

NEWTON (CBS) - A window washer at Newton-Wellesley Hospital is recovering after falling nearly 35 feet to the ground while working outside Saturday afternoon.

The accident occurred about 2 p.m. Saturday.

The window washer fell four stories, between 30 and 40 feet, while working outside the hospital.

"He was on a seated platform and he was over the edge of the building, down five to 10 feet working on a window, and his harness let go and he plummeted down," Newton Deputy Fire Chief Mike McNamara told WBZ-TV.

McNamara said the worker, a 41-year-old man, suffered severe leg injuries that were not life-threatening. He was sent to a Boston hospital.

Rescue crews couldn't get to the worker right away because he was trapped in between two buildings.

"We couldn't get the ambulance close enough so we had to take a scoop stretcher and carry him through a garage and then out onto the driveway, so it was difficult evacuating him," McNamara said.

OSHA is now investigating what went wrong.

"(It was) cold and windy and he was up quite a ways on the building," McNamara said. "He shouldn't have been out there this afternoon, no."