Inspection Detail

Inspection: 313973083 - Vegas Tunnel Constructors

Inspection Information - Office: Nv-E-Las Vegas 0953220

Investigation Summary

On February 22, 2010, Employee #1, a hoist operator, was working on a construction project. At approximately 7:45 p.m. coworkers noticed that the employee sounded sick. The employee requested help from the safety manager and told coworkers that he thought he had pneumonia. Coworkers contacted the safety manager, who arrived and checked the vital sounds of the employee. The employee's vital signs were stable, and he downplayed his illness to the safety manager. Since the employee was the only qualified hoist operator on the site at the time, it was decided that he should lift the employees out of the tunnel, which took approximately twenty minutes. When he was done, he requested oxygen but there was not any in the hoist house. A coworker stayed with the employee as the safety manager went to call the company's emergency medical technician (EMT), at 8:26 p.m. The employee walked down the stairs of the Hoist House and became very short-of-breath. As the Safety Manager helped the employee walk across the roadway to the First Aid trailer, the employee started to fall out, making groaning noises. He did not look well. At approximately 8:37 pm, the Safety Manager called the National Park Service (NPS), but could not remember the address of the construction site so the Safety Manager placed the employee into the safety truck and drove out to the main road. During this time, the employee had become unresponsive, the safety manager administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). It appeared that there was no AED in the Safety's truck. During CPR, the Safety Manager noticed that the employee made a gurgling sound, his chest rose and fell, and a yellowish fluid came out of his mouth. When NPS arrived, they continued to give CPR and used the AED device to try to revive the employee. The Clark County Coroner/Medical Examiner was called at 9:25 p.m. by NPS and arrived at 10:25 p.m. Employee #1 was pronounced dead at 10:45 p.m. The Coroner's report indicated that the employee died of natural causes due to Cardiomyopathy with significant contributing conditions such as chronic renal failure and diabetes mellitus. Therefore, the employee's death was not occupationally related.

Keywords: UNCONSCIOUSNESS, CONSTRUCTION, HOIST