Inspection Detail

Inspection: 125612754 - Weeks Drilling & Pump

Inspection Information - Office: American Canyon District Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 had just completed drilling holes for a new scoreboard on a private school athletic field. He was moving a 1973 Hughes hydro digger/auger, serial #264, with 17 ft depth capacity, into an auger trailer to take it back to the company yard. To help position the auger, Employee #1 used a square kelly bar, which normally attaches to the end for hole digging. He was standing behind the drill rig, reaching up to move the kelly bar's IN/OUT control lever that would release the auger's load and let him pull the connecting pin, when he hit the wrong lever. The auger trailer spun around, pinning Employee #1 between the trailer tire and the end of truck bed. He sustained two fractures to his pelvis and two to his lower back. Employee #1 may have slipped on the grass before hitting the wrong lever.

Keywords: FRACTURE, PINNED, SLIP, CONSTRUCTION, BACK, CAUGHT BETWEEN, PELVIS, AUGER, DRILL RIG--NON-OIL