Accident: 170080345 - Killed When Struck By Loader Grapple Attachment

At approximately 4:00 a.m. on December 26, 1997, Employee #1 was operating a Caterpillar 966C front end loader with a bucket attachment, loading sugar cane bagasse into a hopper for transport to a boiler. A coworker in the bagasse shed was operating a similar vehicle with a grapple attachment on the front. As the coworker backed away from the hopper and turned, he momentarily fell asleep and ran into Employee #1's loader. The grapple attachment struck Employee #1's cab, knocked out the windows, and struck Employee #1 in the chest. He was killed. The coworker later stated that he woke up when his loader struck Employee #1's machine. Apparently, the coworker had not had sufficient sleep or rest during the previous 12 hours. Sleep deprivation was found to be a cause of the accident.

loader, struck by, fatigue, equipment operator, chest, backing up, fell asleep, struck against, mech mat handling

Accident: 170100820 - Killed In Truck Accident

At approximately 11:20 a.m. on July 22, 1997, Employee #1, of Hartung Glass, was driving westbound on I-90. He was traveling at 60 mph when he drove into the back of another semitruck, which was going approximately 15 mph. Employee #1 was trapped between the seat and steering wheel for approximately two hours. Once extracted, he was airlifted to Harborview Hospital, where he died at 8:09 a.m. on July 24, 1997; see Washington State Patrol report #97-008031 and King County medical examiner's case #97-0871. I t was a clear day and the road was straight, not heavily traveled, dry, and in good repair. It was believed that the accident may have been due to fatigue, since not all drivers are able to work the full 15 hour tour without a break.

caught between, motor vehicle, fatigue, truck, struck against, traffic accident, truck driver, inattention, tractor trailer

Accident: 171043466 - Dies After Working In Hot Weather

At approximately 5:15 p.m. on May 12, 1997, Employee #1 was using a gas-powered push mower to cut lawns. He told his employer that he felt tired, and the employer told him to rest in the company truck. When a coworker went to check on him, Employee #1 was having convulsions. An ambulance was called and Employee #1 was taken to the hospital, where his temperature was measured at 111 degrees F. While at the hospital, he had a seizure and died. The cause of death was dehydration and hyperthermia. Employee #1 had been working that day since 9:00 a.m., in temperatures ranging between 75 and 85 degrees F.

heat exhaustion, heat, high temperature, fatigue, heat stroke

Accident: 170888515 - Injured When Struck By Car On Highway

Employee #1 was working on a highway bridge seismic retrofit project. He was moving a gas welding cart to another location in the closed #1 lane, near the center line of the open lane, when he was struck by a north-bound automobile. Employee #1 suffered a dislocated hip and fractured leg. The cause of the accident was fatigue from working a double shift, which impaired Employee #1's judgment as to the proximity of the danger zone.

construction, traffic accident, struck by, dislocated, hip, fracture, leg, fatigue, inattention, highway

Accident: 170081616 - Killed When Pinned Between Truck Trailer And Dock

At approximately 12:24 a.m. on February 12, 1996, Employee #1, a driver/salesman, was working at the C.F. Motor Freight, Inc., facility at Harahon, LA. He had unloaded a truck trailer at door #31 on the west side of the terminal and was intending to lower that part of the dock plate going into the truck trailer. He could not locate a tool to use to drop the dock board or plate. Instead, he asked a truck driver to move the truck trailer forward so that the dock plate would fall down. The driver moved the truck a short distance and when he heard the dock plate drop, he backed up to the dock so that Employee #1 could secure the trailer door. In the meantime, Employee #1 had fallen 4 ft 3 in. from the dock and was pinned between the truck trailer and the dock. He suffered fatal internal injuries to his chest and abdomen. Employee #1 had broken his ankle on the job in August 1995, and had pins put into his ankle. He had lost time and was put on light duty in the later part of 1995 and was released to normal duty January 29, 1996. He walked with a limp after that accident. His shift had started at 4:00 p.m. on February 11, 1996, and was near the end of his shift when the accident occurred on February 12, 1996. Employee #1 may have lost his balance and fallen from the dock due to muscle fatigue or pain associated with the earlier ankle injury. Also, there was no signalman to direct the truck as it backed immediately before the accident. The employer had an ongoing safety program; weekly meetings were held at the terminal and records were kept. It was recommended that signs be posted advising dock workers to remain on the dock during loading and unloading, and reminding drivers to look before backing.

loading dock, fall, pinned, fracture, trailer truck, off loading, truck driver, signalman, backing up, fatigue

Accident: 170378467 - Leg Fractured When Struck By Falling Wall

At approximately 3:30 p.m. on January 4, 1996, Employee #1, a carpenter, was on a five-man crew that was building a two-story wood frame wall on the second floor of a structure under construction. They were using cleats to prevent the wall from kicking out, and swing down props were nailed in place. The crew had just finished lifting a similar wall. As they raised this one and started to walk it up, it became apparent that the wall wasn't tall enough for the props to swing into place. The crew grew fatigued during the lift and dropped the wall. It struck Employee #1's left leg, fracturing his tibia; a coworker suffered a fractured left ankle.

Keywords: construction, unsecured, fracture, tibia, leg, fatigue, wall, manual mat handling, carpenter

Accident: 784686 - Killed When Run Over By Dump Truck

At 5:00 a.m. on July 25,1995, Employee #1 was flagging traffic for a road construction crew. She was walking back to the end of the street when a Mack 3-axle dump truck, weighing 55,000 lb, backed over her, crushing her legs and chest. The operator had an obstructed rear view, no one was directing him, and the truck did not have a back-up alarm. The driver was not aware that he had run over Employee #1 until he turned and saw her lying in the road. Employee #1 was killed. Employees had been working on site since 7:00 p.m. the previous evening after driving to the site the same day.

construction, dump truck, backing up, obstructed rear view, back-up alarm, work rules, run over, fatigue, flagman, signalman