Inspection Detail

Inspection: 111944252 - Cushman Contracting Corporation

Inspection Information - Office: Fresno District Office

Investigation Summary

At 2:00 p.m. on February 10, 2000, Employee #1 sustained a serious head injury when he was struck in the back of the head by a 4-ton slide gate. Employee #1, along with 3 others, was installing the gate for the North Canal Spreading Works Project of the Arvin Edison Water Storage District. The six-foot by seven-foot gate was lowered into the 27-foot deep bay with a twenty-foot long nylon sling attached to it suspended from the shovel of an excavator. After it was lowered, Employee #1 discovered that the holes in the gate were not aligned with the studs on which they were to be placed, and he decided to re-rig the gate so that it could be aligned properly. In order to re-rig the gate, Employee #1 instructed the excavator operator to lower it to the floor. The gate was lowered and rested on the floor and against the wall. It had a ledge near the bottom, on which Employee #1 and one of his helpers stood while adjusting the sling. As the employees stood on the ledge, the gate began to tip over. The employees turned and ran to avoid it. However, Employee #1 did not succeed in escaping. The gate struck the back of his head, causing the injury which subsequently resulted in his death on May 26, 2000.

Keywords: HEAD, STRUCK AGAINST, CONSTRUCTION, LACERATION, EXCAVATOR, CONCUSSION