Inspection Detail

Inspection: 303078489 - Hood Industries, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Baton Rouge Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, a debarker operator, was in the closed cab and using hand controls to direct logs into the machine. The logs were traveling down a chain-driven conveyor system when the debarker stopped. Upon checking, Employee #1 found that an hydraulic hose had burst, and he asked the millwright to make up a new one. The millwright was gone about five minutes and upon returning found Employee #1 lying face down near the debarker. Emergency services was summoned, including the coroner, who was also the physician in this town of 1,100 people. Employee #1 was pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner noted that when he arrived, Employee #1's tongue was swollen out of his mouth and he had defecated, suggesting he had suffered a heart attack. Subsequent investigation revealed that Employee #1 had experienced severe chest pains in December, 1998 and he was taken to the emergency room of the local hospital. His wife told the physician after his death that he had been having severe chest pains for the past two to three weeks, but decided to wait until after the holidays to visit the doctor. None of his coworkers noticed him having any recent problems.

Keywords: CARDIOVASC SYSTEM, HEART, HEART ATTACK