Inspection Detail

Inspection: 115448466 - Northwest Hardwoods Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Dosh Everett Service Location, Everett, Wa

Investigation Summary

At approximately 12:15 p.m. on February 26, 1995, an electrician was installing brackets for a new panel while a coworker, the head millwright, was working on a locked-out pallet edger about 50 ft away. Employee #1, another millwright, passed by and offered to weld the bracket. The electrician left to get key stock, and then, feeling sick, left for the bathroom. While Employee #1 began to weld the top of the bracket from the catwalk, the head millwright dropped a socket inside the pallet edger, where it landed on the sawdust conveyor. He went to the electrical room and removed the lockout so he could run the conveyor ahead and retrieve the socket. By this time, Employee #1 had finished welding the top bracket, climbed through the guardrails, and was standing on the wood waste conveyor to work on the lower bracket. This conveyor was next to the sawdust conveyor and stood about 63 in. high. The head millwright went to the control panel to start the sawdust conveyor when he apparently hit the start button for the wood waste conveyor, moving it approximately 8 ft ahead. Employee #1 was thrown off the conveyor and hit the floor, bruising his forehead. He was taken to the hospital for X-rays and an examination. The following day he was transported to Everett Hospital with chest pains. Early the next day (two days following the accident), he was taken to a hospital in Seattle. He died there of cardiopulmonary arrest following surgical repair of an aortic dissection due to blunt impact to the trunk.

Keywords: HEART, WORK RULES, TORSO, LOCKOUT, CARDIAC ARREST, MILLWRIGHT, CONVEYOR, FALL, ARTERY, COMMUNICATION