Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1427067.015 - Swingen Construction Company

Inspection Information - Office: Bismarck Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 7:30 a.m. on August 29, 2019, an employee was using a shovel to clear construction debris from the northern shoulder of a highway interchange as it passed under an overpass that was under construction. The lane where the employee was working was bordered on both sides by concrete barriers, separating it from opposing traffic. The company used traffic barrels to partially close the lane and push traffic towards the southern median barrier, creating a work area of approximately 12 feet in width, bordered on the south by the barrels and on the north by a concrete divider. The company's superintendent was operating a Skyjack SJ63AJ Articulating Boom Lift in the same work area. The employee, facing towards the east and walking backwards, was using a shovel to clean construction debris from alongside the northern concrete barrier. The Superintendent, operating the lift, was located to the west of the employee and moving west along the northern concrete barrier. The lift operator's platform was positioned to the western side of the chassis and was elevated less than four feet from the ground. In this position the lift's chassis partially obstructed the operator's view to the front. The Skyjack lift was equipped with a functioning motion alarm, but the noise level from traffic traveling under the overpass was high. While the Superintendent was moving the lift forward and the employee was walking backwards, the employee was struck by the lift and crushed beneath the front tire. The employee was hospitalized to treat several leg fractures, including a compound fracture of his femur.

Keywords: Boom, Boom Truck, Clearing, Compound Fracture, Construction, Crushed, Debris, Fracture, Highway, Highway Shoulder, Highway work zone, Leg, Run Over, Shovel, Struck By, Walking Backward