Tractor Overturn Kills 16-Year-Old Farm Worker in Washington State

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (WA FACE) ; Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries ; Washington (State). Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention
• Description:
  On August 23, 1999, a 16-year-old farm worker (the victim) died of injuries when the tractor he was driving overturned and crushed him. The victim was towing a small hay baler on a two-lane, public paved road. Just prior to the incident, a motorist observed the victim driving the tractor and baler with the "passenger-side" wheels of both the tractor and baler partially on the road's gravel shoulder. The tractor then turned right toward the road's steeply banked shoulder. As the tractor began to overturn down the bank, the victim attempted to jump from the tractor in the same direction as the overturn. The motorist who witnessed the incident found the victim pinned under the tractor. Emergency medical persons were called and responded to the incident. The victim died at the scene. To prevent similar occurrences, the Washington State Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) Investigative team concluded that persons operating farm tractors should follow these recommendations: 1. All tractors should be equipped with Rollover Protective Structures (ROPS) and seat belts. ROPS should be installed as manufacturers' original equipment or retrofit per the manufacturers' guidelines. 2. All personnel must wear a seat belt when operating a tractor equipped with a ROPS. 3. All persons who drive tractors need to be trained, educated and knowledgeable in all aspects of the safe operation of tractors, including the towing of implements, and be made aware of hazards related to their operation. Drivers should also be familiar with the tractor's operation manual. 4. Extreme care should be used when operating tractors on or near sloped terrain, ditches, or embankments.
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Agriculture Farmers Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-potential Accident-prevention Agricultural-machinery Agricultural-workers Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 10 Tractors Traumatic-injuries
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Agriculture ; Youth ; Youth Agriculture
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE99WA056
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Washington ; OSHA Region 10
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  20 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026020
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2007-106625
• 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 99WA056, 2001 Jul ; :1-20
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  11 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1997/07/01
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:951497b15115d4d6ee6945bdb96398ed329c76169bf561f7933ff205e5b380d6db27617f82276b27b38dc138f25fb732a7091c61353c430ad984e60185e30ed3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/170340/cdc_170340_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 171.53 KB ]