Inspection Detail

Inspection: 111893129 - Mother Lode Enterprise

Inspection Information - Office: Modesto District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 8:00 a.m. on May 12, 1993, Employee #1, a choker setter, was removing burnt logs from fibreboard land. Employee #1 had set the chokers, hooked up the load (six logs measuring 33 feet long and 18 inches in diameter), and given the clear signal to the employer/tractor operator to go. As the load came down the skid trail, Employee #1 was walking down that same skid trail to the next choker location. While driving down the skid trail's rather steep terrain, the tractor operator hit a 6 inch stump. As he continued to drive over the stump, the butt of a log in the load struck the stump. The log pivoted, swung around, and flipped, knocking Employee #1 to the ground. He said that he attempted to side step and outrun it, but the log was moving too quickly and far, and it struck him. Employee #1 was hospitalized, suffering from fractures of the left femur, the left pelvis, the ribs, and from a punctured lung.

Keywords: FRACTURE, UNEVEN GROUND, LOG, CHOKER SETTER, STRUCK BY, TRACTOR, LOGGING, LEG, PUNCTURE, UNSTABLE LOAD