Inspection Detail

Inspection: 125630103 - University Of California

Inspection Information - Office: Oakland District Office

Investigation Summary

At 11:00 a.m. on February 10, 2000, Employee #1 was collecting the garbage cans and was operating the rear end of the garbage truck. He had been hired by the University of California, Berkeley as a laborer and gardener. On the day of the accident it was raining heavily, and Employee #1 and the truck driver started their work at 5:00 a.m. and were performing their regular duties of collecting the garbage and operating the truck. To accommodate a trash compactor, this truck had been modified several years before by installing two fabricated brackets inside the scoop area. When the scoop blade moves over the brackets there is only less than 0.25-inch clearance between the brackets and the blade. Employee #1 stated that he pulled the handle to operate the scoop blade and that the blade did not move at all, so he rode on the rear right side of the truck to go to the next collection point. While riding on the rear of the truck, Employee #1 had his left hand on the bracket and his right hand on the grab handle. When the truck was moving, the blade started to descend and when it passed over the fabricated bracket Employee #1's fingers got crushed. He was taken to Doctors' Hospital in Pinole where he was diagnosed as having sustained crushed finger bones. He was hospitalized for five days.

Keywords: GARBAGE TRUCK, FINGER, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CRUSHED, BLADE