Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 202353751 - Employee fractures ankle when skid loader boom snags boot

Accident Summary Nr: 202353751 -- Report ID: 0352410 -- Event Date: 12/27/2004
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
308324920	12/27/2004	1629	238910	Chesapeake Contractors, Inc.

Abstract: On December 27, 2004, Employee #1 was using a New Holland L553 diesel skid loader to clear stones from a pit when he noticed that the overhead fuel gauge was getting low. He drove the loader to the front office area to refuel it from a 75-gallon fuel container located in the bed of a pick-up truck. Since this was only the second time he had operated this particular piece of equipment, he did not know where the fuel tank was located and he exited the loader, leaving it running. Once outside the cab, Employee #1 realized that he had to move the vehicle to refuel it. When he got back into the cab, his left foot struck the heel part of the left foot pedal. This raised the boom, which caught his right boot and pulled his right leg all the way up to his face before he could turn and pull it back down. After his right leg came down, Employee #1 straddled the step (crossbar) between the cab and the bucket with the boom still up and the toggle switch turned off. He began yelling for help. A coworker inside the building heard his cries and ran out to help. He called 911 and then got a steel bar to jam the boom and keep the bucket from falling and further injuring Employee #1. An ambulance arrived within three minutes. After an initial evaluation, Employee #1 was transported to the local hospital, where he was treated for a fractured ankle. Employee #1 was wearing heavy work boots (without steel toes), and the heel of his right boot was almost completely torn off. He was wearing no other personal protective equipment. Leaving the loader running was a usual practice for any worker who planned to be away for only a few minutes; since the loader had a toggle switch that bypassed the interlock, the machine did not automatically shut off after Employee #1 removed the seatbelt. According to the operator's manual, this piece of equipment should have had an interlock that shut it down when the seatbelt was removed. The L553 skid loader had only been on site a little over a month, and Employee #1 had been given no training on how to use it.

Keywords: FRACTURE, REFUELING, WORK RULES, EQUIPMENT OPERATOR, CAUGHT BY, CONSTRUCTION, INTERLOCK, LOADER, UNTRAINED, ANKLE

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Excavation, landfill		Demolition		$50,000 to $250,000

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	308324920			Hospitalized injury	Fracture	Miscellaneous material moving equipment operators	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Site grading and rock removal Fatality Cause: Caught in stationary equipment

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