Inspection Detail

Inspection: 308527944 - Town Of Mooresville

Inspection Information - Office: Nc Department Of Labor - Charlotte

Investigation Summary

At approximately 09:00 a.m. on January 7, 2005, Employee #1 was performing maintenance and landscaping operations at the Glenwood Cemetery, alongside with two coworkers and a supervisor. A coworker was pulling loose brush into a pile with a rake while Employee #1 was operating the Bobcat skid-steer loader Model #773 to clear and remove brush from the woods located on the cemetery grounds. Another coworker was operating a chain saw to cut a log that Employee #1 pulled with the loader. Employee #1 and the supervisor were contacted to move their personal vehicles because of a paving job being done on the street. The supervisor instructed one of the coworkers to operate the loader in their absence. The coworker told his supervisor he did not have the knowledge to operate the loader. The supervisor instructed Employee #1 to show the coworker how to operate the machine. After doing as instructed, Employee #1 left the Bobcat and walked over to the supervisor and the coworker started operating the loader. Employee #1 returned to the loader while it was in operation to offer assistance and was struck by the left arm of the machine. He suffered a head fracture and was hospitalized. At the time of the incident, Employee #1 was not wearing head protection. The employer had not provided training in the safe operation of the Bobcat skid-steer loader to the coworker.

Keywords: FRACTURE, HEAD, MAINTENANCE, WORK RULES, MACHINE OPERATOR, LOADER, MECH MAT HANDLING, STRUCK BY, UNTRAINED, MOTOR VEHICLE