Inspection Detail

Inspection: 309301638 - Cti Telecom Corp

Inspection Information - Office: Santa Ana District Office

Investigation Summary

On May 22, 2008, Employee #1, a laborer, was sifting through piles of excavated dirt mixed with broken concrete and asphalt. He used a backhoe (CAT Model Number 420D) to dump loads into a three-sided 5 ft by 7 ft by 9 ft metal sifter called a Grizzly. The top of the sifter had 2 in. diameter pipe spaced evenly across the top with an approximate 2 in. intervals and at a 45 degree angle slant. The larger chunks rolled off the slanted top, and dirt and smaller chunks collected in a pile on the ground underneath the sifter, which had an opening on the bottom. The sifted material underneath the sifter was scooped out with a backhoe and dumped into a truck for transportation offsite. A coworker, an administrative worker, observed Employee #1 sifting at about 8:30 am, and at about 10 am, the employer, who was Employee #1's direct supervisor, observed the backhoe operating in the yard as he drove in to the office. A half-hour later, the coworker walked out to the yard, at which time he saw Employee #1 lying face-down in the yard. His head and torso were exposed, and the sifter had fallen forward upon him. The backhoe was still running. The coworker ran to Employee #1 to check for a pulse, then ran across the street to summon emergency medical personnel. The coworker and employer returned to the yard, intending to pull the sifter off of Employee #1 via the backhoe and some chain. However, emergency responders arrived, and they pronounced Employee #1 dead at the scene.

Keywords: CHEST, HEAD, UNSECURED, PINNED, STRUCK BY, BACKHOE, MACHINE--MISC, UNSTABLE POSITION