UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At approximately 3:00 p.m. on June 6, 1997, Employee #1, who had been working that season since March 1997, was hired by the secondary employer as one of 50 irrigators, all paid by the primary employer, to irrigate a large carrot farm. He was spraying water on the berm line to keep down the dust raised by the wind. Problems with dust were why so many irrigators were needed, because the carrot seeds had just been planted and had not yet sprouted. Employee #1 was refilling the bubble tank with water, as was done two to three times daily. He noticed the assistant lead irrigator near a pump approximately 150 yd away and requested his assistance. A 30 ft long by 3 in. diameter metal pipe was used to fill the 1,080 gallon polysphere ball tank. The pipe was put on the platform of tank trailer, ID #RT62, license #456332. The irrigator then climbed the steps to the platform and the pipe was laid on top of the opening of the bubble tank, near the top of the bubble. The other end of the pipe was connected to a larger 10 in. diameter irrigating pipe in the field. The latch that connected these two pipes became dislodged after the coworker tried to connect it. Employee #1 was already on top of the platform holding the pipe, and this action may have caused him to lose his balance. He fell 62 1/2 in. from the platform, landing in the equipment attachment arms on the back of a John Deere tractor, model 5400, ID #FT103. Employee #1 complained of stomach pains and the coworker drove him to the nearest hospital, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 3:00 p.m. The primary employer was cited for a violation of T8CCR 3203(A), for not having specific arrangements in writing with the secondary employer to provide IIPP coverage; for not obtaining a copy of the secondary employer's IIPP and confirmation of the training and periodic monitoring of the training; and for not instructing the employee to contact the primary employer if work is begun before the training or if the employee feels that the work is unsafe. The secondary employer was cited for a violation of T8CCR 3203(b)(2), for not documenting the training, and for a violation of T8CCR 3210(a), serious, for not having guardrails on the platform of the tank trailer.