Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 129590.015 - Employee fractures femur while harvesting spinach
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
1474039.015 | 05/04/2020 | 111219 | Willoughby Brothers, Llc |
Abstract: At 4:48 a.m. on April 29, 2020, an employee was harvesting spinach. The activities and tools involved include, a tractor pulling a flatbed harvesting trailer with product bins and a mechanical harvester driving along side, filling the bins. The trailer involved was a Valley Fabrication harvesting bin trailer. The employee was a stacker, who had worked directly for the employer for about one week prior to the accident. At the time, the employee was on the flatbed harvesting trailer, packing the spinach into the bins. This trailer had a walkway/runway attached to each side to allow employees to stand on the trailer when the bins are present. At the time of the accident, these walkways/runways were not placed in their horizontal position but rather in a vertical position. This forced the employees on the trailer to stand on the edge of the platforms. In addition, this position of the platforms created a dip, where the platform was made to allow the trailer wheel movement. At the time of the accident, the employee was packing the spinach and was moving along the edge of the vertical platform. As he neared the front of the trailer, the employee mis-stepped on the dip section, which caused him to fall to the ground. The trailer and harvester were stopped, and the trailer wheel came into contact with the employee's left leg. The employee sustained a fracture to his left femur. He was transported to St. Louise Regional Hospital, in Gilroy California, where he was admitted for treatment and hospitalized. Although the employer was being cited for a violation, it was not considered accident-related.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
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1 | 1474039.015 | 20 | M | Hospitalized injury | Farm workers |