Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1672432.015 - Il Dept. Of Corrections - East Moline Correctional Center

Inspection Information - Office: Illinois Public Sector 0551701

Investigation Summary

At 1:00 p.m. on May 23, 2023, an employee working as a corrections officer for a state correctional facility was cutting the branches and trunk of two trees. The employee was working from inside the basket of a 2007 Genie Model S-40 Self-Propelled Telescoping Aerial Lift. The lift was resting on a sloped and grassy area. The boom was extended approximately 40 feet into the air. The employee was working without fall protection. The employee adjusted the lift to continue cutting down the tree branches by adjusting the bucket's height and moving the lift side to side. While doing so, the lift's tires closest to trees began to lift off the ground. The lift tilted and rolled over ejecting the employee from the bucket and onto the ground. The employee may have also been struck in the chest and torso by the left basket railing as well. The employee was unconscious after the fall. Coworkers provided CPR until first responders arrived and transported the employee to the hospital. The employee died from fractured ribs and arms and blunt trauma to the chest.

Keywords: Aerial Lift, Aerial Truck, Arm, Back, Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Boom, Bucket , CPR, Chest, Correction officer, Cutting, Ejected, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Fall Protection, Falling Object, Fracture, Hoisting Mechanism, Inexperience, Laceration, Lack of Work Procedures, Rib, Roll-Over, Slope, Sloping, Torso, Training, Tree, Tree Limb, Unstable Surface