Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310490180 - Mr Crane Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

On December 26, 2007, Employee #1 was operating a P&H Lattice truck-mounted boom crane, model #9150, serial #51529. He had completed work at a tilt-up panel commercial construction job in Monrovia, CA, and was dismantling the crane for travel. Previously, he had unmounted a rear counterweight and set it on a flatbed truck on one side of the site. This was necessary because the crane had become stuck in the mud that formed after several days of heavy rain. To remove the counterweight, the crane had been jacked up and plywood placed under the wheels to free the crane. Employee #1 then moved the crane to the other side of the site to unload a spreader bar and associated rigging onto another flatbed. He did not set the outriggers before starting this job. Employee #1 then tried to "get a better look" at the position of the second flatbed truck, which apparently had pulled up farther than he had anticipated. He started to swing the crane to the left and also to boom up on the tires when the crane began to tip. Employee #1 attempted to jump free of the crane as it was going over and suffered a fractured right arm. He was transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital for treatment. Employee #1 later stated that he felt he had been in error because he should have set the outriggers before starting the task underway at the time of the accident.

Keywords: FRACTURE, DISMANTLING, OUTRIGGER, TRUCK CRANE, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, ARM, CRANE OPERATOR, OVERTURN, UNSTABLE POSITION