Inspection Detail

Inspection: 301931861 - Dixie Grading & Equipment, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Nc Department Of Labor - Winston-Salem

Investigation Summary

At approximately 10:30 a.m. on June 8, 1998, Employee #1, of Dixie Grading and Equipment, Inc., was checking the grade for a new state route. He had been discussing with the grader operator how to properly grade the last 200 ft of the roadway, explaining that there were high spots up the hill and low areas toward the bottom. The grader operator asked him to walk up the hill and show him the high spots so he could grade them down to the lower areas while maintaining the required 7 percent grade. As Employee #1 walked up the hill, the grader operator began backing his Caterpillar 120H road grader, with the reverse alarm sounding, behind him. Employee #1 decided to check the grade at the other stations at the 100 ft mark, and was kneeling at one station when the grader backed over him. He was rolled over backward and trapped by the undercarriage of the grader, which had a clearance of 15 in. As Employee #1 screamed, the coworker panicked and pulled the grader forward, essentially running over him a second time. Employee #1 sustained fractured ribs, a fractured collarbone, a punctured lung, blurred vision, and a strained knee and back. He was taken to a local hospital and then transferred by helicopter to a trauma unit. Employee #1 was wearing a camouflage jacket at the time of the accident.

Keywords: CLOTHING, FRACTURE, LUNG, CONSTRUCTION, EARTHMOVING EQUIP, ROAD GRADER, RIB, RUN OVER, BACKING UP