Accident: 170002786 - Employee Killed When Loader Overturns Down Embankment

At approximately 8:30 p.m. on May 26, 2000, Employee #1 was driving a CAT 988 front end loader when he went off the roadway, down a 20- to 30-ft embankment, and into a gravel pit. The loader flipped as it went over the embankment, landing on its top. Employee #1 sustained massive head and upper body injuries, and died at the scene. The top of the cab was crushed and it took 9 hours to extricate his trapped body from the vehicle.

Keywords: seat belt, front end loader, embankment, overturn, rops, equipment operator, construction, head, chest, work rules

Accident: 170388532 - Employee Injured In Explosion At Aluminum Melting Furnace

Employee #1 was instructed by his supervisor to use a Bobcat loader to add 900 lb of silicon into the #2 aluminum melting furnace. Employee #1 had dumped in two buckets when an explosion occurred that ignited his clothing and the Bobcat. Employee #1 sustained injuries, for which he was hospitalized. The explosion was triggered by standing water that had pooled on the floor in the silicon area due to major leaks in the roof.

Keywords: front end loader, fire, aluminum processing, inadequate maint, chemical reaction, explosion, melting furnace, water, chemical, work rules

Accident: 119947760 - Leg Injured When Loader Overturns

At 10:40 a.m. on May 8, 2000, Employees #1 and #2, landscapers employed by Blixseth Companies, were riding in the cab of a front end loader as it rode along a golf course access in Rancho Mirage. The loader rolled over and into a concrete-lined storm drain channel. Employee #1 sustained multiple injuries, including a fractured left leg. He was transported by paramedics to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where he was hospitalized for 26 days. Employee #2 sustained minor injuries, for which he was treated but not hospitalized.

Keywords: leg, front end loader, motor vehicle, overturn, lost control, fracture, earthmoving equip, equipment operator

Accident: 170238638 - One Killed, One Injured When Pinned By Backhoe

At 6:00 p.m. on January 11, 2000, Employees #1 and #2 were working at a construction site. The operator of a Case 590 SL backhoe was preparing to excavate a small hole. The operator lowered the front bucket and then swung the seat around to face the backhoe controls. He then throttled up, and the backhoe traveled forward, striking Employees #1 and #2 and pinning them against a flatbed trailer. Employee #1 was killed and Employee #2 suffered a broken leg.

Keywords: construction, struck by, caught between, pinned, communication, backhoe, loader/backhoe, leg, work rules, earthmoving equip

Accident: 898684 - Employee Killed When Pinned Between Loader And Truck Bed

At 9:10 a.m. on June 30, 1999, Employee #1 and a coworker were repairing a soft spot in the street. The blacktop had been removed and stone was being added to give the area a more solid base. Employee #1 was adjusting the tail gate chains at the rear of his Ford F-series dump truck #46 to control the flow of stone when he raised the bed to spread the stone. A coworker was using a Bobcat skid-steer loader, model 863C, to spread the stone that had already been dumped. The Bobcat operator saw Employee #1's vehicle parked upon the blacktop, immediately south of the area where he was spreading stone. Employee #1 then backed his vehicle into the excavated area behind where the Bobcat was working, parked it, and was apparently facing the rear of the truck making the tailgate chain adjustments when he was pinned between the rear of the Bobcat and the bottom edge of the dump truck bed. He suffered severe internal crushing injuries to his midsection and was killed. The back-up alarms on both vehicles were fully functional. The main causal factor appears to have been Employee #1's failure to heed the Bobcat's back-up alarm as the vehicle approached him.

Keywords: construction, caught between, dump truck, pinned, inattention, loader, crushed, dump truck bed, backing up