Restaurant Maintenance Worker Wedged between Sump Pump Pipe Support Bar and Sump Pump Crock Rim

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (Project) (MIFACE) ; Michigan State University. Department of Medicine. Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Description:
  On March 18, 2001, a 54-year-old restaurant maintenance worker died of asphyxiation when he became wedged between a metal support bar for sump pump piping and the rim of the sump pump crock. The uncovered sump pump was located in a storage area behind a row of refrigerators in the restaurant basement. The victim used the storage area as an area to hang his coat. After punching out, the victim went downstairs to retrieve his coat. The victim's coat pocket may have contained several pieces of jewelry. The owner thinks that some jewelry may have fallen out of his coat pocket while he was putting on his coat and/or getting car keys. The victim may have thought that some jewelry fell into the open sump pump crock, and he attempted to retrieve the jewelry. During the retrieval process, the victim became pinned between the metal support pipe and the sump pump well rim. Another restaurant employee found the victim and called the restaurant co-owner. The co-owner called 911. The victim was found bent at the waist, headfirst in the sump crock with his head in the water. Rescue workers used a reciprocating saw to cut the metal support to free the victim. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Recommendations: 1. Employers should evaluate the workplace to identify any confined spaces and develop and enforce written work procedures for entry into these areas. 2. Employers should cover sump crock openings with a solid cover to prevent items and/or people from falling into the sump pump area. 3. Employers should develop and enforce written work procedures, including general electrical safety-related work practices.
• Content Notes:
  Publication Date provided by FACE program
  
  not printed on the report.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Confined Spaces Maintenance Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-potential Accident-prevention Confined-spaces Injuries Injury-prevention Maintenance-workers Occupational-accidents Occupational-hazards OSHA Region 5 Safety-equipment Safety-practices Traumatic-injuries

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Confined Space ; Foreign Born Workers
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE01MI064
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  9 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026850
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2006-110732
• 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 01MI064, 2002 Apr ; :1-9
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Performing Organization:
  Michigan State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  72 - Accommodation and Food Services - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2002/09/01
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:23989591100703c4c0ffe09e971d9993f806397c1f60fb62c70e6c4920396451b095a8fdcd7c87beb66c02cc55647857d76727e1c6c67da34dc74179fc5c65f5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/169147/cdc_169147_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 183.07 KB ]