Day Laborer, First Day On The Job, Struck and Killed by Backhoe Bucket

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  New Jersey Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation Project (NJ FACE) ; New Jersey. Department of Health. Public Health Services Branch. Division of Epidemiology, Environmental and Occupational Health. Occupational Health Surveillance Unit
• Description:
  A 34-year-old Hispanic day laborer was killed after he was hit in the head by the bucket of a backhoe loader. The incident occurred in the parking lot of a health care facility in northern NJ. On the day of the incident, the victim was helping two other workers build a concrete block retaining wall. It was his first day on the job. A backhoe loader was being used to transport concrete blocks from a staging pile to the wall by connecting blocks to the bucket of the backhoe with a chain. The victim was standing near the backhoe loader preparing to connect a block to the bucket when the operator, not realizing the victim was there, rotated the boom. The bucket struck the victim's head and pinned him against the stack of blocks. The victim suffered blunt force head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene about fifteen minutes later. Contributing Factors: 1. Worker standing within swing radius of backhoe loader boom. 2. No personal protective equipment. NJ FACE investigators recommend that these safety guidelines be followed to prevent similar incidents: 1. A safety and health plan based on a job hazard analysis should be developed by the employer and followed where workers are assigned tasks. 2. Training of all employees on job-specific tasks is extremely important, including day laborers. 3. Personal protective equipment such as hard hats and high-visibility vests should always be worn when working with backhoe loaders.
• Subjects:
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Construction Industry
  • Emigration and Immigration
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Protective Clothing
  • Safety
  • Staff Development
• Keywords:
  • OSHA Region 2
  • Accident analysis
  • Accidents
  • Injury prevention
  • Safety education
  • Traumatic injuries
  • Work practices
  • Training
  • Immigrant workers
  • Construction equipment
  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Construction ; Hispanic - Construction ; Machine (All) ; Machine - Construction
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE14NJ074
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-13
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048335
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2016-104160
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 14NJ074, 2016 Apr ; :1-13
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  23 - Construction - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2026/06/30
• Resource Number:
  FACE-14NJ074
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/165022/cdc_165022_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.22 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:03e0ecd76c5b32c2af2a3c018e588e5b251b3487845dc42740709812cc610085a94521766339e26f54cf9728abebacf80e3f1fff5361d4d30f8ffe0503e80e72