UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At approximately 10:59 a.m. on August 9, 2011, an employee was digging trenches alongside farm fields to install drain tiles. He was working alone, using a Ford Model 555 tractor backhoe. (The narrative did not identify the manufacturer of the tractor backhoe.) He had finished digging four of the six trenches he intended to dig, when he was run over by the tractor backhoe. After being run over, the employee was able to call a coworker from a cell phone to indicate that the injuries were severe and to call an ambulance. When assistance arrived, the backhoe was running and still in gear approximately 44 feet (13.4 meters) past the location where the employee had been run over. The outriggers on the backhoe were in the 'up' position, with the front bucket up and rear bucket touching the ground. Several deficiencies were found on the backhoe, and it was in generally poor working condition. The employee died as a result of the injuries he sustained to his abdomen.