Inspection Detail

Inspection: 312359193 - Alameda County Water District

Inspection Information - Office: Oakland District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 6:30 p.m. on March 4, 2010, a crew of three utility workers responded to an after-hours leak located at a residential neighborhood. The crew had set up their equipment and tools upon arrival, and one employee began jack hammering the 5-ft by 5-ft section of the asphalt. Once that employee finished, another employee mounted a John Deere backhoe loader (Model Number 410 G) to excavate the hole. Employee #1 and an a coworker were standing at the top of the hole observing, while the backhoe operator picked up the first material with the bucket. As the bucket swung over to dump the first chunks of asphalt into the dump trunk, pieces of the asphalt chunk broke apart and fell onto the corner of the truck and onto the ground. The operator then lowered the bucket and swept the pieces on the ground back into the hole. Employee #1 then called out to the operator to stop while he proceeded to the rear of the dump truck. The operator lowered the bucket approximately 6-in. to 12-in. from the ground just in front of the hole. The operator throttled down the motor and took his hands off the controls. The operator leaned over to the left of the cab to try and get a better look at Employee #1, when his right sleeve cuff caught the swing control and activated the boom, swinging the bucket towards Employee #1. Employee #1 was pinned by the mast of the backhoe and the rear of the dump truck. The operator immediately removed the backhoe bucket and mast off of Employee #1. Employee #1 suffered a fractured left arm, fractured ribs, fractured spine, fractured scapula, punctured lung, and later, the removal of his spleen. Employee #1 was hospitalized for 12 days for treatment and surgery.

Keywords: FRACTURE, LUNG, SPINE, PINNED, DUMP TRUCK, RIB, STRUCK BY, ARM, BACKHOE, PUNCTURE