Fatality Narrative: Construction Laborer Struck by Headache Ball

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On February 16, 2004, a laborer was struck in the chest and killed by a headache, or overhaul ball, when the anti-two-blocking device failed. The 20-year-old laborer was attempting to remove a sling chain from the main hook of a mobile crane that was in operation at an industrial yard work site. The operating engineer of the mobile hydraulic crane was assisting the victim in loading the 100-pound chain into the back of pickup truck. In order to reach the back of the pickup the operator began to extend, or telescope out, the boom while the victim was holding the lifting chain suspended from the crane's main hook. While extending the boom, the auxiliary hook, or whipline, became two-blocked (a condition in which the lower hook assembly comes in contact with the boom point sheave assembly) causing the load line to break and the 225-pound headache ball to fall 15 feet, striking the victim on the chest. The victim was taken to a hospital where he died. An investigation by the Department determined that the crane's radio anti-two-block device was inoperative, and that the operator was not trained in how to use and test the system. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Education Mortality Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Cranes Equipment Maintenance Equipment Operation Equipment Operators Equipment Reliability Fatalities Hazards Protective Equipment Protective Measures Safety Education Safety Measures Safety Practices 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:20051860
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-29-2004, 2004 Dec; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: construction laborer struck by headache ball
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3563ece16f0d861670278898b36f9bdaae692ada6d40a12333a142e109cb57c23fd139120826f01cf1dddc14a784e16f608ed4cc3a8c47298268a60b6e4570a5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228844/cdc_228844_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 26.89 KB ]