Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1280566.015 - Teichert Pipelines Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Sacramento District Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:14 p.m. on October 18, 2017, Employee #1 and Coworker #1, employed by a pipeline company, were working at an excavation alongside a busy road. Employee #1, the site foreman, was inside a 5-foot excavation and overseeing the work crew's digging around gas pipes. The bucket of a backhoe truck was inside the trench and being used to load dirt for removal. Coworker #1, the backhoe truck operator, was in his vehicle, which was parked in the second lane of the road, inside a work zone coned off for traffic control. Coworker #1, whose back was to the oncoming traffic, subsequently reported that he thought he heard a vehicle entering the work zone. He attempted to secure his vehicle and prepare for impact. In so doing, he inadvertently operated the bucket controls, the boom swung, and the bucket struck Employee #1. Employee #1 was pinned between the bucket and the wall of the excavation. Emergency services were called, and Employee #1 was transported to the hospital. He was admitted and treated for a fractured pelvis.

Keywords: Backhoe Bucket, Caught Between, Construction, Excavation, Fracture, Highway, Pelvis, Pinned, Pipe, Traffic Control