Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300531282 - Lps Of Latham Ltd

Inspection Information - Office: Albany Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 12:05 p.m. on October 31, 1997, Employee #1 was working on a new Holland l785 skid steer industrial truck, serial #738945. He had just removed the fork attachment and put on a bucket front-end loader attachment. While the machine was running, he stuck his head out the side of the vehicle, apparently to check a flat tire. As he leaned out the opening, which was supposed to have a screen guard over it, his foot apparently hit the controls for the bucket arm, which was operated by a hydraulic piston. The control arm came down and crushed Employee #1's head against the hydraulic piston. He was found by employees who worked for the business next to the accident site. Employee #1 suffered blunt head trauma and was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The equipment was operating properly and the hydraulic systems were not leaking. The screen guard had fallen out approximately three weeks before the accident and had not been replaced.

Keywords: HEAD, IND TRK OPERATOR, SCREEN, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CRUSHED, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, UNGUARDED