Farmer Dies of Entanglement in Corn Picker/Husker

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Wisconsin Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (Wisconsin FACE) ; Wisconsin. Division of Public Health. Bureau of Occupational Health
• Description:
  A 77-year-old male farmer (the victim) died after becoming entangled in a corn picker/husker. He had been harvesting corn from his field using a tractor equipped with a power take-off (PTO) that powered the picker/husker. The picker/husker was equipped with guards over some sprockets and chains on the sides and back of the machine. However, other operating parts of the machine were unguarded. He got off the tractor while the tractor was running with the PTO engaged, and was positioned near the sprockets, drive chains, and a revolving shaft of the picker. His clothing apparently was caught by the shaft and he was pulled into the operating machine. Earlier in the afternoon his wife had been working in the field with him, driving a truck that he loaded with the husked corn. She left the field after he indicated he did not need her help then, and returned to their house where she had a view of his work area. About one half hour later she noted that the tractor was stopped and she returned to the field to investigate. She found the victim entangled in the picker/husker, shut off the PTO, and went to the house to summon emergency services. EMS responders arrived and disengaged the PTO from the picker/grinder shaft to free the victim from the machine. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The FACE investigator concluded that, to prevent similar occurrences, farm machine/equipment operators should: 1. Observe and follow all applicable safety precautions when operating machinery driven by tractor power take-off equipment, including disengaging the PTO and stopping the tractor engine before approaching the machinery. 2. Identify machinery/equipment components that allow contact with a point of operation, and ensure that appropriate guards, recommended by the manufacturer or dealer, are installed.
• Content Notes:
  Publication Date provided by FACE program
  
  not printed on the report.
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Agriculture
  • Farmers
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Safety
  • Safety Management
  • Workplace
• Keywords:
  • OSHA Region 5
  • Accident-analysis
  • Accident-prevention
  • Accidents
  • Injuries
  • Injury-prevention
  • Traumatic-injuries
  • Work-operations
  • Work-analysis
  • Work-areas
  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Agriculture ; Machine (All) ; Machine - Farming
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE95WI003
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Wisconsin ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028104
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2009-102459
• 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 95WI003, 1995 Oct ; :1-4
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1996
• Performing Organization:
  Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  11 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1991/09/30
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Resource Number:
  FACE-95WI003
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/166919/cdc_166919_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 102.39 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c42ed3d8b2eb50e81468edf2d7657dfb1b72b9a2c3183bae90aa4b0173be990b53a99474d90d70dcfee3da640de0b4187bfae6493c3523904256eb0c7ad0d257