Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310202304 - R&R Pipeline, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Van Nuys District Office

Investigation Summary

On June 16, 2008, Employee #1 was working as a labor foreman at a construction site. Employee #1 and another employee were asked by a supervisor to separate the rebar from the slabs of concrete which he was breaking up with the backhoe and jackhammer attachment. They were told by the supervisor to use sledge hammers to break the concrete off the rebar. They proceeded to break concrete and separate the rebar while the supervisor was still operating the backhoe in the area. After a while, the supervisor stopped the backhoe and indicated to them that he wanted them to look for the jackhammer drill bit and pin which had fallen out of the jackhammer. He told them to look in the pile of concrete rubble. The other employee found the bit, but not the pin. The supervisor then went and got the "Kamatsu" excavator and brought it over to the pile of concrete. The supervisor started moving the slabs and pieces of concrete in order to make clearance for them to continue looking for the pin. Employee #1 had been using an air rivet-buster to break the concrete, as well as a portable gas cut-off saw to cut the tangled rebar. Employee #1 decided to use these tools because the concrete and rebar were difficult to separate with just the sledge hammer. The supervisor moved some pieces of concrete and then told the two employees to move back further. One employee moved away from the pile of concrete onto the dirt, and Employee #1 stepped on top of a slab of concrete. Employee #1 indicated that he could see the supervisor when he started to move more concrete with the excavator. Employee #1 indicated that next thing he remembers is waking up in a hospital. Employee #1 fell and hit his head on a piece of concrete when the slab of concrete he was standing on was pulled from under him by the excavator. Employee #1 sustained a skull fracture in the back of his head and had three hematomas, but did not require surgery when the bleeding stopped. Employee #1 also suffered hearing loss in one ear, memory loss, and other problems associated with the head injury. Employee #1 was hospitalized for four days.

Keywords: FRACTURE, HEAD, REBAR, JACKHAMMER, HEARING LOSS, SKULL, FALL, BACKHOE, CONCRETE