Fatality Narrative: Skid Steer Loader Operator Crushed

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 54-year-old skid steer loader operator died when he was pinned between the lift arms cross bar and the frame. The victim had 25 years' experience operating many types of equipment, including skid steer loaders. His employer was a site preparation subcontractor responsible for digging trenches for water pipes. He had been working at the job site for two weeks. On the day of the incident, the site foreman sent the victim and another worker to get a skid steer loader to backfill trenches. The other worker gave the victim the key to the loader and told him the "dead-man" (safety interlock) switch for the lap bar was not working properly. This switch prevents the machine from starting unless the bar is in the "down" position. As the other worker was walking away, he heard the machine start. He turned around and saw the victim pinned between the lift arms cross bar and the loader's frame. The worker ran to the loader and tried to move the arms off the victim, but the controls did not respond. He called his supervisor and then 911. Several workers rushed to the scene and after multiple tries were able to extract the unconscious victim. He did not regain consciousness and died four days later. Investigators were unable to determine why the lift arms lowered on the victim. The lap bar safety interlock was found to be not working. The victim was able to start the machine with the lap bar in the "up" position, instead of the normal "down" position. He started the loader while standing on the ground outside of it. When he reached in to start the machine he may have unintentionally activated the boom arm's control, causing the arms to lower. Workers had reported that they needed to warm up this loader for a few minutes because of cold temperatures. The loader had been rented by another subcontractor from an equipment supplier. It did not have an operator's manual. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mortality Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Equipment Operators Equipment Reliability Fatalities Hazards Injuries Safety Measures Safety Practices Skid-steer Loaders Traumatic Injuries Work Environment Workers Worker Safety

  More +
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051383
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-166-2018, 2018 Feb; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: skid steer loader operator crushed
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:49c4db8a6f32a6319290ba2d1dfba4f8a7b9cb0adc715152485ab98569332c48ee1830262caf3f4a4ff8c90651c11eaa1efe2ef7a43b091b1b26838bd0490477
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228716/cdc_228716_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 543.14 KB ]