Inspection Detail

Inspection: 104475793 - Soil Safe, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

At approximately 9:15 a.m. on December 6, 1990, Employee #1 was helping a backhoe operator move concrete blocks weighing 3,000 to 4,000 lb. A chain sling was used along with the backhoe. The steel chain hook was connected to the lifting rebar that was embedded into the concrete block. The other end of the chain sling was attached to a steel hook that had been welded to the underside of the backhoe bucket. The concrete block was lifted and set on a sloping embankment, perpendicular to the slope. The employee started to bang on the hook end that was connected to the block because it was stuck. At that same time, the chain sling slipped out from the hook that was welded to the backhoe bucket. The backhoe operator said that the hook had spread open. The concrete block rolled, caught the employee's leg, and rolled on top of his chest. Employee #1 was crushed and killed. The backhoe operator tried to rehook the chain sling on the bucket's hook, but the chain just slipped through the hook. Employees were later able to knot the chain sling on the bucket and remove the concrete block from Employee #1's chest.

Keywords: CHEST, HOISTING MECHANISM, SLIP, CAUGHT BY, CRUSHED, SLING, CONCRETE BLOCK, BACKHOE, SLOPE, LEG