Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1471822.015 - Transportation Network V, Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Charleston Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:45 or 2:00 p.m. on April 4, 2020, an employee was working for a car dealership that sold new and used cars and trucks. The employee was operating a Bolens model 11A--020W765 lawn mower. This was a push-type rotary mower with a 20-in. (51-cm) blade. It had a single blade that rotated about a vertical axis. The employee was mowing up and down on a sloping grassy embankment between the car lot and some adjacent railroad tracks. The slope had a grade of approximately 32 degrees. The lawn mower began to slide downhill. The employee pulled back on the handlebars. He pulled the lawn mower back over top of his left foot. The first and second toes of his left foot were amputated. The employee was hospitalized. The owner's manual recommended that operators wear rough-soled sturdy shoes, not cut up and down a slope, and not cut on a slope greater than 15 degrees. There were warning stickers visible on the equipment that also stated to not mow up or down on slopes and not to cut on slopes greater 15 degrees. The owner's manual stated, "Mow across the face of a slope; never up and down to avoid loss of control. "OSHA's guidance product for riding mowers says, "Do not mow from side-to-side when operating mowers on unlevel or sloped ground. Always mow slopes in the up-and-down direction." The narrative did not go into weather conditions.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Blade, Embankment, Foot, Hazard Assessment, Instantaneous amputation, Lawn Mower, PPE, PPE Hazard Assessment, Rotating Parts, Safety Shoe, Slid, Slide, Slippery Surface, Slope, Sloping, Struck By, Toe, Traumatic Amputation