Inspection Detail

Inspection: 304344153 - Nysta Batavia Highway Maint Section

Inspection Information - Office: Nys Dol Pesh Rochester

Investigation Summary

On July 22, 2002, a heavy equipment operator and crew leader, became ill and complained of being hot. His crew was involved in a driveway-widening job at the tandem parking lot adjacent to the Leroy Toll Plaza, Exit 47, in New York State. At the time, he and a coworker were involved in taking measurements and painting the boundaries of the widening project. He next assisted the mechanic in making a belt change on the Gradall loader that he had been operating. He requested that a coworker drive him to the Ontario Service Plaza at about 10:50 a.m. to get something cold to drink. On the way back to the worksite, he began to ice his chest and arms with an ice pack that his coworker had in his lunch box. Once back at the Leroy Toll Plaza, the heavy equipment operator reclined on a picnic table and his coworker summoned a supervisor. When the supervisor arrived, a decision was made to take the employee back to the shop. En route to the shop, the employee slumped over and became unconscious. An ambulance met them on the highway and took the crew leader to the hospital. Efforts were made to resuscitate him. The crew leader was pronounced dead at United Memorial Medical Center, in Batavia. The cause of death was determined to be arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The Medical Examiner stated that the employee had quite significant arterial blockage. The employee died of natural causes not related to the work he was performing.

Keywords: UNCONSCIOUSNESS, CONSTRUCTION, CARDIOVASC DISEASE