August 17, 2005

Painter injured when lift tips on project at Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A painter was being treated Wednesday night (Aug. 17) for head injuries suffered in a 20-foot fall in Purdue University's Yue-Kong Pao Hall for Visual and Performing Arts.

The worker fell when a lift tipped over while he was painting the underside of the catwalk in the building's new theater. He was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital. His name will be released after the family has been notified, said Jeanne Norberg, university spokesperson.

Shiel Sexton, of Indianapolis, is the general contractor and Simon Watts, of Detroit, is the subcontractor for painting.

Purdue police and fire personnel responded to the accident.

The lift is designed to raise a single person in a basket that he can control.

Writer: Jeanne Norberg, jnorberg@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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