Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) for Wisconsin: Construction Laborer Dies After Being Jolted From a Tractor Seat and Pinned Under the Tractor Tire

摘要

A 36-year-old male construction laborer (the victim) died after the tractor he was driving struck a hidden culvert and he was jolted from the seat, then pinned under the rear wheel. He worked for a road construction company that was replacing guardrails and installing silt fences on a state highway overpass under new construction. On the day of the incident, four co-workers and the victim started working at the site about 7:30 AM. They completed most of the work on the guardrails in the morning and early afternoon, so the victim was assigned to finish up the silt fence plowing. He was using a 1974 tractor with wide-set front wheels to plow a trench when a front tire struck a hidden concrete culvert. The victim was jolted from the tractor seat, while the tractor continued to roll until it came to rest on his back. The tractor was not equipped with a roll over protective structure (ROPS) or operator restraint system. To prevent future fatalities of this type, the FACE investigator recommends employers should: (1) Provide tractors that are fully equipped with an operator restraint system and rollover protective structures (ROPS). (2) Conduct a thorough evaluation of the terrain prior to beginning an operation with a tractor, and inform workers of the hazards and safe work practices to avoid them. Additionally, agencies responsible for setting standards for road construction should: (3) Develop contract requirements for marking structures in ditches that may be hazardous to individuals working in those areas.