Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

15-Year-Old Dies In Utility Golf Cart Overturn, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

A fifteen-year-old golf course worker (the victim) was killed when the utility golf cart he was operating overturned. The victim was employed by the golf club adjacent to which he and his family resided and had driven the utility golf cart to his home located at the top of a hill to change clothes. Before leaving work for his residence, he contacted a friend who then came to his house on a regular course golf cart (not a utility cart). After the victim changed clothes, he and his friend left the victim’s home. Then on their respective carts, traveled downhill …

Construction Worker Dies After Being Struck By A Falling Excavator Bucket, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

A 44-year-old construction worker (victim) was killed when a 36-inch-wide bucket weighing more than 1000 pounds, detached from its quick release coupler and fell from an excavator, landing on him as he was working in a trench. The victim and another worker had been in the trench preparing it for a pre-formed concrete manhole that they were about to install. Their supervisor (the excavator operator) sat and waited in the excavator, with the engine running, and the bucket raised a few feet above ground level so that it would be out of the way. The second man in the trench …

Factory Worker Entangled In Conveyor Belt Rollers, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

An 18-year-old male chop saw operator (the victim) died when his right arm became caught in the roller mechanism underneath a conveyor belt. He was pulled into the roller mechanism and suffered compressional asphyxia and blunt force injuries. The victim had left his usual work station for a break. When he did not return on time, his supervisor began to search for him. He saw the victim's legs hanging from the conveyor belt and immediately ran to him and shut off the power to the conveyor belt, radioing a guard to call for emergency medical services (EMS). He and another …

Factory Worker Caught In Overhead Conveyor While Hanging Transformers, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

A 29-year-old male factory worker (the victim) died after his head became caught at the point where an overhead chain conveyor made contact with an idler, or pinwheel, that allowed the conveyor to make a 90-degree turn. The conveyor was over seven feet above the floor, but the victim, who was 6'7" tall, was standing on a platform that enabled him to reach the hooks on the conveyor to hang transformer canisters for delivery to a paint booth. No one saw the victim get caught at the nip point, but his supervisor heard him call out and immediately pushed the …

Bulldozer Operator Killed In Rollover, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

A 56-year-old bulldozer operator was killed while clearing land on a steep hillside. He was self-employed and used the John Deere 450C bulldozer that he owned for logging on his own property, as well as doing work for others when needed. He owned mountain property near his home and he used the bulldozer to clear a series of paths in the hills for logging. At approximately 8 pm on the day of the incident, he was using the bulldozer to clear a path leading downhill where he planned to put a sawmill. As he was grading, he backed the bulldozer …

Sawmill Worker Killed By Circular Saw, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

A 32-year-old laborer (the victim) at a sawmill died as a result of injuries received when he lost his balance and fell onto the log carriage directly in front of the 56-inch circular saw. He had been using a cane hook to turn the logs for repeated passes through the saw. After hooking a log, he somehow lost his balance and fell backward onto the carriage; the saw cut him from his shoulders through his midsection. A co-worker (the sawyer) was present, but had been facing another direction and did not see the victim fall. When the sawyer turned around …

Pug Mill Operator Killed After Entanglement, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

On November 19, 1996, a 25-­year­-old female pug mill operator at a brick manufacturing plant was killed after her clothing became caught in a rotating shaft. She was strangled as the rotating shaft tightened her clothing around her neck, restricting her airway. In order to prevent similar incidents from occurring, FACE investigators recommend:

• Machines with rotating parts should have guards to prevent worker contact
• Employers should designate a competent person to conduct regular safety inspections and coordinate routine safety and injury prevention meetings
• Employers should provide a kill switch (panic bar) within reach of the pug mill that stops the …

Welder Is Crushed By An Unmanned Pipelayer, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Other

A 34-year-old male welder was killed after being runover by an unmanned pipelayer. The victim worked for a pipelaying construction company as a contracted welder. On the day of the incident the victim, a welder's helper, and an equipment operator drove to the work site together to begin the day's activities. Access for the worksite was via a single lane temporary road winding up the mountainside through a mixed hardwood forest. The 1/2 mile dirt road carved its way up the hillside; on the left was the bank, on the right was a steep drop off. As the victim drove …