Fatality Narrative: Tractor Operator Crushed by Trailer

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On August 31, 2014, a 22-year-old hop farm laborer was crushed when a trailer landed on top of him. He was operating a tractor pulling a trailer when the trailer detached and came forward and landed on top of the tractor and crushed him. This was the victim's first season working at his employer's hop farm. He had been employed there for six months. His job duties included hauling bales of hops from the field by operating a tractor with a trailer. On the day of the incident, he was operating a utility tractor to tow a 25-foot empty flatbed trailer from the farm's shop to the equipment storage area. As he was moving through the level dirt yard, the trailer separated from the tractor and bounced up and overtook the tractor. The front of the trailer landed on the tractor. The victim was crushed between the trailer's frame and the tractor's steering wheel. Investigators determined that the trailer was incorrectly attached to the tractor. Instead of using a hitch pin to connect the trailer's tongue to the tractor's hitch, a bolt was used. There was no physical evidence found at the scene to indicate that the bolt was secured at its bottom to prevent it coming loose. The tractor was found in its highest gear with the hand throttle in the lowest position (indicating that the victim was using the foot throttle to control the tractor's speed). These two facts suggest that the tractor may have been travelling at a high rate of speed. Additionally, there was no rollover protective structure (ROPS) on the tractor. A ROPS might have provided protection to the operator when the trailer landed on the tractor. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Automobiles Education Mortality Occupational Health Safety Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Equipment Maintenance Equipment Operation Equipment Operators Fatalities Hazards Injuries Motor Vehicles Rollover Protective Structures ROPS Safety Measures Safety Practices Tractors Training 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:20051479
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-135-2015, 2015 Feb; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: tractor operator crushed by trailer
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c51262ec95f5fc08d5a4cec98bdf7a9048f5007e7dc8a983643d15562be9ee18c26804718ec0a952c736e0d3fee974656086aacac81593c70c1d7d32590e975a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228737/cdc_228737_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 408.06 KB ]