Inspection Detail

Inspection: 711544.015 - Xtreme Elements, Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Cleveland Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 12 p.m. on October 27, 2012, an employee was changing oil in a skid steer (bobcat) loader. The employee raised an old automobile lift up approximately 2 feet off the floor and rolled under it on a creeper to reach an oil plug on the skid steer loader. The skid loader was placed in front of the lift and the lift was blocking access to the oil plug. The lift was raised so the oil plug on the loader could be easily accessed. The employee did not crib or block the lift to prevent it from lowering. The company had recently leased the building and hired the employee as a full time mechanic. The employee had many years of experience working with hydraulic jacks and lifts of this similar type. The lift had made contact with the back side of the skid loader, slightly taking some of the weight off the skid steer loader, but the rear wheel area in which the lift had made contact had not been lifted from the floor. The air leaked from the hoist allowing it to come down onto the employees' neck, pinning and choking the employee. The employee was working alone on a Saturday and was not found until later in the day by a coworker who returned from a remote jobsite. The employee sustained crushing neck and chest injuries and is killed

Keywords: Caught In, Crushing, Head, Hoist, Hydraulic Lift, Neck