Fatality Narrative: Orchard Supervisor Run Over by Tractor and Attached Tank Sprayer

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On July 4, 2012, an apple orchard supervisor died when a tractor and an attached tank sprayer ran over him while he was making repairs to the sprayer. The 44-year-old victim had worked at the orchard for 16 years. On the day of the incident, the victim was changing a tire of the sprayer in the yard outside the orchard's repair shop. The sprayer was attached to a tractor that was more than 30 years old. Another worker left a note for the victim explaining that the sprayer was not getting enough pressure and then went to get parts so that the victim could complete the changing of the tire. In order to check the pressure jets or to adjust the position of the sprayer, the victim started the tractor while standing beside it. As he did so, the tractor and the attached sprayer moved forward and he was run over by their wheels. An investigation determined that the tractor was left in gear and had a defective ignition switch which allowed the tractor to start while in gear. Also, several employees were aware of the broken ignition switch, but did not report it to the orchard manager. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Automobiles Education Mortality Occupational Health Safety Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Agricultural Machinery Agricultural Safety Agricultural Workers Equipment Maintenance Equipment Operation Equipment Operators Fatalities Hazards Injuries Motor Vehicles 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:20051509
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-122-2013, 2013 Aug; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: orchard supervisor run over by tractor and attached tank sprayer
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5741a19cfebe04e60529d15faf3406c9977356dc985467e28f9d3b1d9bc29b32d04f9b6bf85522e012c6f06d3c22ff67a8789ec4da48bdc6af9da112eb813a85
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228749/cdc_228749_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 127.24 KB ]