Preventable Accidents 3
How could these accidents have been prevented?
On June 9, 2008, Employee #1 was apparently decapitated and killed, when he was struck in the head by a chain/rope sling that broke while trying to tow a stuck bulldozer out of a river.
On March 24, 2009, Employee #1 was part of a labor crew working at a metal fabrication yard. They were preparing a new section of oilfield metering piping for hydrostatic testing. Employee #1 was standing near a small side bypass line that was leaking water. The crew was attempting to stop the leak with the system at a pressure in excess of 2100 psi. A threaded joint of the smaller line blew out at its outlet and struck Employee #1 near his pelvis. Employee #1 suffered severe wounds, broken bones and internal bleeding. He died.
At approximately 3:30 p.m. on June 18, 2009, Employee #1 was a member of a work crew that was installing fencing. At the end of the shift, Employee #1 was helping a coworker store tools. The coworker was operating a Bobcat tractor, Model No. 763. Employee #1 got onto the front housing section of the Bobcat with his feet braced behind the top rim of the bucket section and instructed the operator to give him a ride back to the meeting spot. The operator did not realize that Employee #1's feet were in the pinch point and tilted the bucket back to provide clearance for driving down the road. The pivoting action of the bucket pushed and pinned Employee #1's feet backwards and fractured all the toes on his left foot and one toe on his right foot. He was hospitalized for four days for treatment of his injured toes.
At about 4:30 p.m. on March 4, 1992, an injury occurred in the shipping department of a manufacturing company. Employee #1, a production worker, was temporarily assigned to the shipping department to load trucks. He picked up a pneumatic-powered staple gun, which was being used by other workers to fasten wood shipping crates, and playfully pointed it at his coworkers. After being cautioned not to play around, he pulled the trigger to show that it would not operate/fire because of a point-of-operation safety device. Employee #1 then placed the staple gun to his head and it discharged, driving a 1 3/4-inch long steel staple into his head, near his ear.
Employee #1, age 17, was working in a trench when he was struck in the head by an excavator bucket and decapitated.
On September 8, 2005, Employee #1 was riding on the step of a backhoe at a worksite. The backhoe was still moving when he got down. The front wheel of the backhoe ran over his left foot. Employee #1 was taken to the hospital in for treatment of his fractured foot.
On August 26, 2005, Employee #1 was returning from a break, riding on the tailgate of a pickup truck going 25 to 35 miles per hour. He was facing the rear of the vehicle when he slid off the tailgate, struck his feet on the asphalt road, lost his balance and fell backward, striking his head on the pavement. Employee #1 suffered severe head trauma and was flown to a shock trauma center. At the time this report was written, he was in critical, but stable, condition.
At 1:00 p.m. on March 26, 2002, Employee #1, a Fire Suppression Aide, was assigned to obtain metal poles used to mark motorways. Employee #1 said he did not find the correct length poles, so he used the acetylene torch in the Welding Shop to cut the poles. After the job of cutting was done, Employee #1 filled latex gloves with acetylene and ignited them for entertainment. Employee #1 indicated he did it two times on the day of the accident. The second time, according to Employee #1, the glove exploded at the level of his abdomen. Employee #1 was airlifted to a medical center. Employee #1 experienced first-and-second-degree burns to his chest, neck and arms.
Employee #1 was using an oxygen-acetylene torch to weld a sign to the top of a school bus in the southwestern bay of a six-bay garage. While performing this task, he squirted water from a water extinguisher onto a coworker who was walking by the bus. In retaliation, the coworker picked up a hubcap full of liquid that he thought was water (but which was actually gasoline) and threw it at Employee #1, who was welding. As a result of this mutual horseplay, Employee #1 suffered third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body. The causal factors were lack of supervision, unsafe work practices and, most importantly, an open container of gasoline in the garage.
Employee #1, having finished work for the day, was in the back of a truck driven by a coworker, headed to the job shack at the yard to pick up their paychecks. The coworker pulled into the yard at high speed and tried to power slide his truck on the mud. The truck didn't slide and the sudden turn caused Employee #1 to be thrown from the back of the truck. He sustained a laceration on his head that required 17 stitches.