Inspection Detail

Inspection: 311861173 - Gold River Mills, Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Sacramento District Office

Investigation Summary

On May 30, 2008, Employee #1, a miller with a rice milling company in Woodland, CA had just started his shift. Employee #1 climbed up a series of ladders to reach the top of a series of exterior trash bins. He went up to measure the depth of the material in the bins and to reach the measuring ports, he needed to crawl across an elevated screw conveyor enclosed in a frame (trough). According to Employee #1, it was very dark up there, and upon reaching one end of the conveyor frame, he began to crawl across. Employee #1 did not see that a section of the trough cover had been removed, and he began to crawl across the conveyor. One foot contacted the operational screw conveyor, which dragged him into the trough. Employee #1 was able to pull himself out of the trough, and he climbed down the ladders before collapsing. Emergency personnel from the Woodland Fire Department responded, and Employee #1 was airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where he was hospitalized for three weeks. Employee #1 sustained massive trauma (apparently lacerations) to the backside of both legs, but doctors were able to save his legs. Employee #1 had regained partial use of his legs at the time he was interviewed.

Keywords: SCREW CONVEYOR, GUARD, CAUGHT BY, LACERATION, TROUGH, AUGER, UNGUARDED, LEG, POOR VISIBILITY