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Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 202463949 - Employee Experinces Heat Stroke While Cleaning Manholes

Accident Summary Nr: 202463949 -- Report ID: 0950643 -- Event Date: 07/22/2006
Inspection NrDate OpenedSICNAICSEstablishment Name
31019340408/03/20061623237110Kern Pacific Construction, Inc.

Abstract: On Saturday, July 22, 2006, Employee #1 was working for Kern Pacific Construction, Inc., a firm engaged in water, sewer, pipeline, and communications and power line construction, in Bakersfield, CA. Employee #1 had been employed for only five months. He was a member of a crew of nine employees sent out to dig a trench and clean out manholes that were about four feet deep. The crew was split up; one of the employees was considered a foreman and another a subforeman. Three or four of the employees were related to the firm's owners. On the day of the incident, the victim was cleaning out manholes by hand. According to a coworker, he smelled of beer. The temperature at the time of the incident was 103 degrees Fahrenheit, with a relative humidity of 26 percent. Employee #1 experienced an illness related to heat stress. He was taken to Kern Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with heat stroke. He was hospitalized, and he was released from the hospital on July 24, 2006. The person in charge of the crew was related to the owner and was not trained on the symptoms of heat exhaustion. Although the employer provided evidence of training along with documentation, every employee interviewed indicated to the contrary. The only break employees were allowed was a lunch break. Employees brought their own water and were not trained in heat stress illness prior to the incident.

Keywords: HEAT, ALCOHOL, CLEANING, CONSTRUCTION, TRENCH, HEAT STROKE, PIPELINE, HEAT EXHAUSTION, MANHOLE
Accident Details
End Use Project Type Project Cost Stories Non-building Height Fatality
Pipeline New project or new addition $1,000,000 to $5,000,000

Employee Details
Employee # Inspection Nr Age Sex Degree of Injury Nature of Injury Occupation Construction
1 310193404 Hospitalized injury Heat Exhaustion Construction laborers Distance of Fall: feet
Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet
Cause: Excavation
Fatality Cause: Heat/hypothermia

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