UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Abstract: At 3:30 p.m. on October 8, 2014, an employee was unloading the JLG 1500SJ Ultra Series Telescopic Boom Lift from the bed of a trailer. The machine was operated and steered from inside the basket located at the end of the boom. The employee was wearing a harness while driving the boom lift off of the front end of the tr ailer. The employee did not unfold the ramps at the end of the trailer which wer e designed to create a smooth transition from the bed of the trailer to the grou nd. When the wheels of the heavy end of the telescopic boom lift reached the edg e, they dropped straight down to the ground, causing the basket at the other end of the machine to violently thrust upward, ejecting the employee from the baske t. The length of the machine was approximately 61 feet 8 inches with the boom re tracted for unloading from the trailer. The heavy end of the machine fell 21.375 -inches to the ground. The basket end was violently thrust upward to its resting position at approximately 15 feet 6 inches above the ground. The employee's la nyard connecting his harness to the basket had a deceleration device that became fully deployed. The force and pressure of the harness against the body possibly caused injuries while in mid air. The employee fell, slipped through the harnes s, and landed on the ground below the basket. A coworker's called emergency medi cal services. The employee sustained injuries of crushed bones in the face, a br oken collar bone, broken ribs, fractured pelvis, and a catheter to reduce swelli ng. The employee died November 3, 2014.