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Self-Employed Electrician Dies While Driving Aerial Lift in Parking Garage
Get PDFOn October 3, 1998, a 39 year old male self-employed electrician died of injuries sustained when he struck his head on a steel overhead beam while driving an aerial lift truck. The incident occurred in a privately-owned parking garage where the victim had been contracted to change the ballasts in light fixtures located on the top floor (roof) of the garage. The victim was transporting the aerial lift truck down the ramp of the garage when the incident occurred. The victim was riding on the outside of the lift and ducking under the beams when his head struck a beam. A garage patron leaving the garage found the victim and immediately went for help. Police, fire and emergency medical services personnel soon arrived at the scene. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital emergency room where he was admitted and died two days later. The MA FACE Program concluded that to prevent similar future occurrences: Contractors and tradespeople should: 1. Never ride on the outside of an aerial lift truck. 2. Perform a hazard analysis of each job, bring the proper personal protective equipment, in this case, a hard-hat, to the job site and wear it. In addition: 3. Manufacturers should consider including specific instructions for the operation of special use aerial lift trucks.Cooperative Agreemen
Two Window Washers Fall 90 Feet When Their Horizontal Static Line Failed - Massachusetts
Get PDFOn May 15, 2003, two male window washers (the victims), ages 20 and 47, were fatally injured when they fell approximately 90 feet. At the time of the incident, the victims were using rope descent systems with seat boards to wash windows of an eight-story building. Both victims' descent control devices and personal fall arrest systems were attached to a single horizontal wire rope static line that was improperly secured prior to the incident. The victims fell when the static line failed. The victims landed on the cement courtyard below. The courtyard was crowded with pedestrians and construction workers who witnessed the incident. Multiple 911 calls were placed by witnesses via cell phones. A doctor from a neighboring building noticed that people were in need of assistance and rushed out of her office to help the victims. Within minutes Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel arrived and transported the victims to a local hospital where both were pronounced dead. The Massachusetts FACE Program concluded that to prevent similar occurrences in the future, employers should: 1. Ensure that anchor points for personal fall protection equipment are completely independent from the descent control devices. 2. Ensure a competent person inspects and evaluates all anchor points and rigging before descents. 3. Provide training to employees in the proper use of approved descent control devices and appropriate support system and evaluate employees' knowledge of this training. Commercial building owners should: 4. Consult with certified professional engineers to retrofit older buildings with permanent anchor points or ensure that existing anchor points are capable of withstanding intended loads for window washing operations. In addition, employers and commercial building owners should: 5. Develop and enforce a plan of service that addresses the availability of a competent person, safety training, and standard operating procedures specifically for window washing operations.Cooperative Agreemen
A Machine Operator Dies after Becoming Caught in a Computer Numerical Controlled Vertical Milling Machine - Massachusetts
Get PDFOn June 1, 2005, a 37-year-old male machinist was fatally injured when he became caught in the vertical milling machine he was operating at an aerospace parts manufacturer. The victim had reached into the cabinet of the milling machine when the machine cycled, crushing him. A co-worker (co-worker #1) had walked by the machine to let the victim know that it was break time when he noticed that the victim was caught inside the machine. Co-worker #1 had another co-worker (co-worker #2) place a call for emergency medical services (EMS). Multiple co-workers worked to free the victim prior to EMS arriving. EMS transported the victim from the incident location to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Massachusetts FACE Program concluded that to prevent similar occurrences in the future, employers should: 1. Ensure that existing and newly purchased machining centers with cabinet doors are equipped with interlocks; 2. Develop, implement, and enforce a comprehensive hazardous energy control program including a lockout/tagout procedure and training; 3. Provide employees training, in the employees' primary language(s) and at appropriate literacy levels, on machines they will use, worksite hazards and controls for these hazards; 4. Provide frequent supervision of newly-hired and inexperienced employees; 5. Periodically perform equipment hazard analyses to ensure equipment is safe to operate; 6. Develop, implement, and enforce a comprehensive written health and safety program. In addition, machining center manufacturers should: 7. Ensure that all moveable guards of new numerically controlled and automatic milling machines are safeguarded with interlocks.Cooperative Agreemen
Male Semi-Truck Driver Killed In Rollover Crash On County Road
Get PDFEarly in the morning during the winter of 2005, a 31-year-old male semi-truck driver died when the semi-tractor trailer he was driving left the roadway and rolled over into a ditch. He had just picked up a load of raw lumber from a lumber yard and pulled out of the gate onto a county road and driven about a mile when the incident occurred. His destination was a lumber mill approximately 150 miles away. He was driving on a straight stretch of the road when the right tires left the pavement and dropped onto the sloped grassy area next to the road. There was evidence the driver attempted to correct the tractor trailer and return it to the pavement. However, the ground was wet and the slope was steep. The tractor trailer hit a tree and rolled over onto a fence. There were no witnesses to the incident. Emergency medical services were contacted. Upon arrival, they found the driver on the inside of the roof of the overturned, upside down cab without vital signs. The local coroner was contacted who arrived and declared the driver dead at the scene. He had not worn his seatbelt. Toxicology results showed acetaminophen, Doxylamine, and Dextromethorphan (cold medications) were in his system at the time of death. To prevent future occurrences of similar incidents, the following recommendations have been made: 1. Commercial vehicle carriers should implement and enforce a workplace policy that requires drivers to wear seat belts while operating a commercial vehicle. 2. Employers should implement and enforce a policy that prohibits commercial drivers who are ill or taking over-the-counter medications with potential side effects for impaired driving from operating a commercial vehicle. 3. Commercial vehicles should be in compliance with Department of Transportation regulations. 4. Companies should provide professional training for company truck drivers. 5. County roadways in Kentucky should be designed and constructed with an adequate shoulder area, or have guardrails that will deter commercial vehicle drivers from leaving the roadway. 6. Transportation companies should consider equipping semis with global positioning satellite systems.Cooperative Agreemen
Three Construction Workers Killed after being Struck by a Bus in a Highway Work Zone
Get PDFOn May 20, 2005, three male construction workers, employed by a paving company, sustained fatal injuries when they were struck by a passenger bus in a highway work zone. The work zone, located in the southbound lane of a four-lane divided interstate highway, was demarcated by the required orange traffic cones and warning signs. The southbound driving lane was closed and the passing lane was open to traffic. At approximately 10:00 a.m., a southbound charter bus passed multiple warning signs as it approached the work zone. The bus driver attempted to brake approximately 0.2 miles south of the beginning of the work zone and move left, partially onto the median's shoulder, in an attempt to avoid striking the slowing vehicles ahead. Unable to move to the shoulder, the bus struck a motorcycle, hit the curb on the east side of the bridge, returned to the southbound passing lane and struck the rear of a tractor-trailer. The bus entered the work zone and struck the three victims who were working at the rear of a cement truck. After hitting the victims, the bus struck the cement truck in the rear bumper. The bus and the cement truck traveled together for 51 to 58 feet and collided with a parked, unoccupied pick-up truck. Immediately following the incident, the site supervisor called 911 to summon emergency medical services (EMS) who arrived at the site within minutes. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The other two victims were transported to a hospital where they both died. Two cement company employees and a NYSDOT inspector suffered minor injuries while escaping the collision. They were treated and released. The motorcyclist and six bus passengers were treated for injuries at a local hospital. The bus driver sustained critical injuries, was hospitalized, and later recovered. New York State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (NY FACE) investigators concluded that to help prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future, bus companies should: 1. Inspect buses more frequently to insure that all parts and accessories function properly; and 2. Provide frequent training to bus drivers regarding highway work zone safety issues. Transportation administrative agencies that are responsible for designing traffic control plans on interstate highways and bridges should consider requiring: 3. Use of protective barriers to shield workers from intruding vehicles; 4. Use of portable rumble strips/speed bumps on roadways to warn motorists of highway construction work zones; 5. Reduced speed limits through work zones on highways with high traffic volume to protect workers; and 6. Use of law enforcement officers in cruisers with flashing lights at the entrance to a highway work zone, and an additional law enforcement vehicle at the end of the work zone to enforce speed limits.Publication Date provided by FACE program; not printed on the report.Cooperative Agreemen
Truck Driver Killed in Two-truck Crash in Wyoming
Get PDFA 29 year old male truck driver died from injuries received when the truck he was driving rear-ended another semi as they were both eastbound on Interstate roadway. The truck the victim was following struck a wild animal in the right-most lane of the road and slowed abruptly as a result. The victim, who was driving an empty truck at an undetermined speed, smashed into the rear of the slowing vehicle, crushing the cab and collapsing the driver's compartment back against the truck trailer. Law enforcement personnel arrived at the scene within four minutes of occurrence and requested an ambulance. Two ambulances responded from a hospital approximately 10 miles away, one arriving 16 minutes after notification and the second arriving seven minutes later. The victim was evaluated and placed on the first ambulance to arrive, for transport to the nearest hospital. Air ambulance was notified within two minutes of the victim's arrival at the hospital and the victim was transported to an out-of-state hospital 50 minutes later. He expired at the out-of-state hospital on the following day. Employers may be able to minimize the potential for occurrence of this type of incident through the following precautions: 1. Insure that drivers are properly trained in defensive driving 2. Schedule routes to provide drivers with sufficient sleep to maintain alertness at all times on the road.Publication Date provided by FACE program; not printed on the report.Cooperative Agreemen
Contract Worker Re-installing Sewer Line in Wyoming
Get PDFA 39 year old male plumber's helper died from injuries incurred when an excavation collapsed while re-installing a sewer line at a construction site for a new home being built. The victim was in an un-shored, vertical-walled excavation, replacing a sewer pipe that had been installed nearly a week prior to the incident. While he was shovelling dirt above the pipe to prevent future breakage, a 2' x 3' concrete caisson/footer fell in the excavation along with the surrounding excavation wall, burying the victim to his knees with dirt, striking him in the abdomen, and pinning him to the remaining wall of the trench. The victim sustained severe internal injuries to the abdomen and pelvic area, and died the following day in the hospital. Employers may be able to minimize the potential for occurrence of this type of incident through the following precautions: 1. Shore vertical wall excavations to OSHA standards. 2. Establish quality control procedures to minimize reworks. 3. Improve hiring practices for short-time workers.Publication Date provided by FACE program; not printed on the report.Cooperative Agreemen
Pest Control Technician Dies in 100 Foot Fall from Roof in Massachusetts
Get PDFOn August 13, 1997, a 25 year old male pest control technician died when he fell from the roof of an apartment building. The technician was spraying for spiders in the vents and other parts of the roof when the incident occurred. While spraying along a gutter of a roof-top penthouse, the technician walked off the edge of the roof and fell nine stories to the parking lot below. Emergency medical services were called immediately, the victim given CPR and transported to a local hospital emergency room where he died. The MA FACE Program concluded that to prevent similar future occurrences: Employers should: 1. Develop and implement a site specific health and safety plan for each site under contract. 2. Employ alternative controls for fall hazards when personal fall arrest systems are not required or appropriate. Building owners should: 3. Consider the installation of guardrails at the perimeter of flat roofs wherever possible.Cooperative Agreemen
Hispanic Farm Laborer Struck by 550-gallon Water Tank When Wood Support Structure Collapsed
Get PDFIn the spring of 2011, a Hispanic male farm laborer in his 60s died when an elevated wooden structure with a nearly full 5\ubd-foot diameter by 3\ubd-foot tall plastic, 550-gallon water tank gave way causing the water tank to land on him. Both the decedent and the farm owner were on the incident site but working on independent tasks on opposite sides of the 13-acre blueberry/potted plant farm operation. The water tank was located on top of a storage platform built by the decedent approximately three years previously. The storage platform was constructed of construction common-grade lumber. Four 4"x 6" corner posts were 52' tall and flush with the ground. For both the upper platform to support the water tank and the bottom platform to provide off-ground storage, the decedent used 2x6 wood planks. A polyethylene plastic material was installed to cover three sides of the structure to create and protect the storage area under the upper platform/tank. The nails used for the structure's assembly were not galvanized nails. The event was not witnessed. The sheriff's office determined that the wooden platform collapsed on the decedent and pinned him under the water tank, perhaps while he was retrieving tools. The owner heard the sound of the crash and came to the area where he found the decedent under the tank. The owner called a neighbor who then called for emergency response. Emergency response arrived and the decedent was transported to a local hospital where he died several days later from the injuries sustained at the time of the incident. A beer can was found at the structure's open side. Contributing Factors 1. Water tank weighing approximately 5,000 pounds fell onto decedent. 2. Improper construction of support structure. RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Outdoor rigid frame structures/platforms constructed with outdoor-rated, pressure-treated lumber should have the appropriate lumber strength, bracing, and fasteners to withstand at least two times the weight of the supporting mass. 2. Farm-built, outdoor, pressure-treated lumber wood support structures should be inspected at least annually for evidence of wood decay and structural deficiencies. 3. Employers should consider measures that contribute to a drug-free work environment, including the development and implementation of an alcohol-and drug-free workplace program, particularly for jobs related to machine and motor vehicle operation.Cooperative Agreemen
Snow Plow Driver Dies When Caught in Auger of Salt Spreader
Get PDFOn December 20, 2004, a 55-year-old truck driver (the victim) died after his clothing became entwined around a rotary auger that was used to move salt in the back of a dump truck to a spreader. He was alone, operating a snowplow Ford F550 dump truck with a hydraulically operated Swenson salt spreading attachment, at the time of the incident. He was found by a co-worker who was returning with his truck to the dispatch yard. The co-worker found the victim inside the box of the truck with the victim's arm caught up in the auger. The co-worker called 911 at 3:46 p.m. The paramedics responded and listed the time of death at 3:55 p.m. The medical examiner declared the victim dead at 5:15 p.m. The victim was removed from the auger by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel and it was observed that the victim's right sleeve had been caught on one of the auger's teeth. The victim was transported to the medical examiners morgue. The FACE investigator concluded that to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: 1. implement an effective Lockout Tagout program that identifies and addresses the hazards associated with rotary machine parts and includes all the manufacturer's recommendations for safe machine handling; 2. contact the manufacturer to determine whether rotating machine components can be completely shielded to prevent worker contact with moving machine parts; and, 3. ensure that workers are trained to recognize the hazards associated with working near or around exposed rotating machine parts.Cooperative Agreemen