UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Abstract: At 11:00 a.m. on March 27, 2012, Employee #1 was working with a crew during the placement of the 8-ft by 3-ft by 8-in wall panels in the retaining wall. The ar ea around the excavator was not clearly marked and the operator/foreman was awar e the excavator was swinging over the three high stacked panels, which were in t he swing radius of the excavator. The hydraulic excavator was used in the remov ing of soil and placement of the concrete panels. During the swing operation to pick up another concrete panel, Employee #1 walked between the unguarded/barrica ded area between the excavator and concrete panels. The stacked concrete panels were approximately 37 inches tall and the excavator had approximately five inche s of clearance over the panels. The rear of the 2006 Caterpillar 330DL (Serial Number MWP00880) hydraulic excavator swung and pinned the Employee #1 between a stack of concrete panels used for a retaining wall system. During the swing, th e hydraulic excavator overlapped the concrete panels by approximately 1.5 feet c rushing Employee #1. Employee #1 was transported to the hospital, where he died several hours later.