UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At 1:00 p.m. on January 20, 2017, an employee and a coworker arrived at a reside ntial construction site where they were instructed to apply hay/straw by way of a Finn Corporation Straw Blower (model number: B-70) to promote the stabilizatio n of the graded terrain. This machine, capable of blowing straw at distances in excess of 60 feet in all directions and weighing 2,360 pounds, was positioned on a trailer that was being towed by a Ford F-250 pickup truck. The coworker opera ted the pickup truck, while the employee was responsible for operating the straw blower. The truck was parked at the bottom of the hill, blocking the entrance to the construction site, as well as the driveway to another residence. Before the employee and the coworker started applying the straw, the owner of the resid ence, whose driveway was being blocked by the work vehicle, asked that they move so that he could go to work. While the employee was standing on the bed of the pickup truck, the coworker accessed the cab, put the truck in drive, and travel ed approximately 25 yards up a hill towards the construction area. The employee fell from the bed of the truck a distance of 2.6 feet to the gravel road, susta ining two fractured ribs, as well as bruising, scrapes, and lacerations to his b ack. The employee was hospitalized and received treatment for his injuries. The incident investigation revealed that the coworker was unaware that the employee was standing on the bed of the truck during movement. This was attributed mainl y to the bed of the truck being filled with approximately 20 bales of straw, hid ing the employee from view of the coworker.