Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 14544183 - Employee dies after leg amputated by mower
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
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106474653 | 09/12/1996 | 0783 | 0 | Log Barn Nursery |
Abstract: On August 29, 1996, Employee #1, a nursery worker, arrived at a farm near Orangeville, PA and then drove a Kubota 2150 tractor about 5 miles to another farm in Lightstreet, PA. His job that day was to mow between tree rows. He had been mowing a path down a diversion, a treeless area resembling a grass covered road on which tractors run to avoid driving through the tree lines. As he attempted to turn around, the tractor's right front wheel ran over a small embankment, causing the right side of the tractor to tilt. Employee #1 was thrown from his seat and the bush hog mower that was being pulled behind the tractor ran over the lower portion of his right leg. The tractor continued over the embankment approximately 75 yards before coming to rest against a tree. It continued to run for about 10 minutes until the owner arrived at the scene. At approximately 7:45 a.m., Employee #1 contacted the general manager with a walkie-talkie and said he was injured and needed an ambulance. The manager immediately called 911 and had an ambulance dispatched to the farm. The owner of the Log Barn Nursery heard the radio call and immediately drove to the farm. When he arrived, he saw Employee #1 lying on the ground with the lower part of his right leg cut off and a self-applied tourniquet on the upper part of his leg. Employee #1 was transported by ambulance to the Bloomsburg Hospital, where he underwent surgery to reattach his leg. Sometime during or after the surgery, he started convulsing and was immediately put into an induced coma to relieve brain swelling. He was later transferred to Geisinger Hospital in Danville, PA, where he remained in a coma until he was declared brain dead on September 11, 1996. Life support machines were removed during the evening hours of September 11, and he died after midnight on September 12, 1996.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
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1 | 106474653 | Fatality | Other | Occupation not reported |