[mkianni]

Originally Posted by bob351 ↗

I doubt a hard hat would have done anything for a 1lb metal measuring tape falling from 50 stories.

No, there's a chance it wouldn't have helped much. On high rise construction sites like the one where this happened, there are supposed to be safety nets in place under workers using hand tools if there's a chance those tools could hit someone far below.

Imagine the damage if a large framing hammer, circular saw, or something along those lines fell from the same height. No hard hat would save you from that. The nets would stop falling tools before they had a chance to ricochet off other objects, and potentially sending them down at rocket speeds to the floors below, or to the ground.