Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1462942.015 - Diablo Country Club

Inspection Information - Office: American Canyon District Office

Investigation Summary

At 11:45 a.m. on February 6, 2020, an employee was working as a crew member for a country club that included an 18-hole of a golf course. The employer is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the grounds of the golf course. The employee was operating a John Deere 220 E-Cut Hybrid lawn mower cutting the grass on the approach area of the 18th hole. At some point, the grass catcher mounted in front of the lawn mower was full of clippings and the employee stopped to remove the grass catcher to empty it. The employee released the operator-presence-bail handle but did not shut off the engine before leaving the operator's position. When the employee removed the grass catcher, he swiped his hand across the reel bar to remove accumulated sand and grass clippings. As the employee did this, the rotating blades caught his right hand. The employee lacerated his middle, ring and pinky fingers. He was transported to the hospital, where was admitted for two days and underwent surgery.

Keywords: Caught In, Cut, Cutting, Equipment Operator, Finger, Insufficient Supervision, Laborer, Laceration, Lack of Work Procedures, Lawn Mower, Lockout, Lockout/Tagout, Machine operator, Maintenance, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Training