Fatality Narrative: Backhoe Operator Crushed by Boom

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On October 15, 2013, a 37-year-old heavy equipment operator/farm laborer died when he unintentionally caused a backhoe's boom to move, crushing him between the boom and a stabilizer. The victim had worked at a hay farm for two seasons operating heavy equipment and providing other labor as needed. He had 20 years' experience operating heavy equipment. The employer had provided on-the-job training to the victim to ensure that he understood how to safely operate the equipment he was assigned to operate. On the day of the incident, the victim was assigned the task of clearing a field of large rocks. Another worker had used a chisel plow to till the field. The victim was using a backhoe's loader to scoop up the rocks and carry them from the field. As he was doing this task, he noticed a metal chisel which had broken off the plow lying on the ground. He stopped the backhoe and set its brakes, but did not turn off the engine. He got out of the cab and walked over to the curved three-foot long, 50 lb. chisel and picked it up. He then walked to the rear of the backhoe and while standing between the raised boom and the raised stabilizer, he placed the chisel in the cab. The chisel struck the right boom-swing foot pedal which activated the boom causing it to move, pinning and crushing him between the boom and the stabilizer. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Agriculture Education Environmental Exposure Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Staff Development Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Agricultural Agricultural Machinery Agricultural Safety Agricultural Workers Equipment Operation Equipment Operators Exposure Levels Hazard Identification Hazards Hydraulic Equipment Injuries Risk Factors Safety Education Safety Measures Safety Practices Training Traumatic Injuries Work Environment Workers

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• 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:20051483
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-133-2014, 2014 Oct; :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: backhoe operator crushed by boom
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0657666d3a5c269929357698fc48fe21940872f4f17632dcea84408ba94c8a4c4231e3087422979bda61203fc2f8789f3675b902c4a36e7935d68c8e8ba24a52
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228739/cdc_228739_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 466.18 KB ]