Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310055314 - Monterey Mechanical Co

Inspection Information - Office: Oakland District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 8:40 a.m. on August 3, 2006, Employee #1 was working as an operating engineering supervisor for a plumbing, heating, and air conditioning contractor. He was walking north alongside an open dirt area that was being built up as a service road. He had just come from removing two shackles from a Gradall material handler being operated by a coworker. The coworker was operating the Gradall material handler with a front-loading 1.25-cubic yard bucket attachment to pick up drain rock from a rock pile and dump it at a paving area about 150 feet away. During this operation, after dumping rock back on the rock pile located north of the dump location, the coworker drove in reverse around clarifier #1. Backing up while looking over his right shoulder, the coworker turned the Gradall to the left to swing the front bucket to face the rock pile. Suddenly he saw a flash of red at the corner of his eye. He stopped and got off the equipment, to find Employee #1 lying on the ground between the left front and rear tires, almost underneath the Gradall. Apparently the coworker had hit Employee #1 and run over him. Emergency fire crews, paramedics, and the sheriff's department responded to the accident scene. Employee #1 was responsive but in serious condition when he was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, CA. He underwent surgery at the hospital, but he was pronounced dead that afternoon at 2:16 p.m. He had sustained severe lacerations and blunt force to his abdominal area and lower extremities.

Keywords: ABDOMEN, FRONT END LOADER, ROCK, CONSTRUCTION, EARTHMOVING EQUIP, MECH MAT HANDLING, STRUCK BY, RUN OVER, BACKING UP