Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1440516.015 - Ofr, Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Modesto District Office

Investigation Summary

At 4:00 p.m. on October 2, 2019, an employee was working as a farm worker at a fruit and tree nut farm. Although there was a language barrier, he was not a migrant farm worker. He was operating an almond sweeper. The sweeper's main control lever had disengaged from the transmission. As a result, the employee lost operational control of whether the sweeper would be moving in forward or reverse. The employee panicked because the machine was traveling downhill rapidly. He made a judgement call to stop the sweeper by steering it into a tree and jumping out. This piece of equipment did not have ROPS or a seat belt. As the employee was jumping from the machine, the sweeper hit the tree. The employee's upper body struck the steering wheel before the employee hit the ground. The employee suffered the fracture of multiple ribs on his right side, and one rib punctured a lung. The employee was hospitalized.

Keywords: Agriculture, Agriculture Machinery/Vehicle, Equipment Operator, Farm, Farm Machinery, Farm worker, Fracture, Hand Control, Jump, Jump From Moving Equip, Lost Control, Lung, Puncture, ROPS, Rib, Seat Belt, Steering Wheel, Struck Against, Tree