Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 201353315 - Employee Is Crushed by Excavator and Is Killed

Accident Summary Nr: 201353315 -- Report ID: 0419700 -- Event Date: 03/12/2007
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
310030622	03/13/2007	1795	238910	Gulf South Sitework, Inc.

Abstract: Employee #1 was helping to clear a property of buildings and to prepare the site for a new construction project. Employee #1 was operating a Caterpillar hydraulic excavator, Model Number 311 to load wood and metal debris from the demolished buildings into three separate 20-cubic yard dumpsters. While Employee #1 was moving the excavator, he noticed that he had moved the excavator so that one of its tracks was on a piece of equipment. Employee #1 was attempting to move the excavator off the equipment without further damaging it. Employee #1 stood in the operator's cab possibly to be able better to see the ground. While Employee #1 was standing, he lost his balance, and may also have tripped on some debris (wood stick, leaves and a piece of metal) that was on the floor of the cab. When Employee #1 lost his balance, his head and a portion of his body went through the window opening on the right side of the operator's cab. The glass pane was missing from this opening. While Employee #1's head was between the left most hydraulic piston of the boom and the lower boom arm of the excavator, his body pushed the operator's right control lever. This caused the excavator boom to lower, and Employee #1's head was crushed in the parts of the moving boom. Employee #1 died at the scene from these crushing injuries.

Keywords: FRACTURE, HEAD, DEMOLITION, SLIP, CONSTRUCTION, CRUSHED, EXCAVATOR, LOST BALANCE

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Single family or duplex dwelling		Demolition		Under $50,000	1		X

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	310030622			Fatality	Fracture	Occupation not reported	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Demolition Fatality Cause: Crushed/run-over/trapped of operator by operating

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