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Landscaping Laborer Dies When Struck By Bouncing Log, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

On March 5, 2004, a 57-year-old male laborer died when a 19 inch wide x 31 inch long log rolled down a mountain hitting him in his head and chest. The laborer had been employed for three days by a landscaping company contracted to clear the tree canopy over a gas line right-of-way. At approximately 2:20 pm, the company owner and five laborers were felling trees and bucking downed trees with chain saws and pole saws to remove the trees and limbs hanging over and growing in the gas line right-of-way. Two of the laborers were working topside at the …

Hispanic Worker Dies In Tractor Rollover, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

On May 31, 2002, a 25 year-old Hispanic worker (decedent) died when the gasoline-powered tractor he was operating overturned. The incident occurred when the decedent mowed a steep embankment along a rural roadside which caused the tractor to flip over a 3-strand, barbed wire fence, pinning the operator under the seat and tire. A passing motorist noticed the overturned tractor and notified 911, emergency services. Local police and fire departments arrived at the scene, as did a local ambulance. The coroner arrived and declared the tractor operator dead due to asphyxiation and crushing injuries to the chest.

• Tractors should be …

Migrant Worker Dies In Tractor Rollover, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

On September 13, 2002, a 26 year-old male Hispanic migrant worker (decedent) died when the tractor he was driving on a country roadway overturned. The decedent had experience driving the tractor in a field, but did not have experience driving it on a public roadway. On the afternoon of the incident, the decedent drove the tractor, pulling a wagonload of tobacco, from the farm where it had been harvested to the tobacco barn one mile away. The road was hilly and had a sharp curve to the right at the bottom of the hill. As the decedent drove the tractor …

Youth Riding As Passenger On Tractor Killed By Overturn, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 16-year-old female was killed after the tractor on which she was riding as a passenger overturned. She was a high school student; farmed on evenings and weekends. The tractor was driven by a 20-year-old friend while baling hay on a farm at dusk. The driver and the victim had been baling hay all day, and both were experienced farmers. The victim was seated on the fender to the left of the driver. The tractor was a 1969 tricycle-tired John Deere, which was well maintained but was not equipped with a Roll Over Protective Structure (ROPS) or a seatbelt. The …

Knotted Log Rolls Off Truck And Kills Logger At Sawmill, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 42-year-old logger (the victim) was killed when he was struck by a log rolling off a loaded truck at a sawmill. At about 6:10 a.m., the victim and the truck driver arrived at the sawmill with a load of logs on the 20-foot flatbed truck. The stack of logs was rounded above the height of the 53-inch standards and secured by only one chain on the middle of the load. When they arrived, the victim got out of the truck and assisted the driver in backing the vehicle into place for unloading. The victim was in view of the …

Log Rolls Off Truck At Sawmill Killing Employee, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

In December 1998, a 31-year-old male (the victim) sawmill employee was killed when struck by a log that rolled off the top of the truck. He was preparing the truck to be unloaded when the log rolled off. While most of the logs received by the sawmill were delivered by independent loggers, the company did own one boom truck that their employees used to pick up timber. This was the truck the victim was driving the day of the incident. At the time of the incident, he was working alone.

When the victim returned to the sawmill, the logs were …

Log Rolls Off Truck At Sawmill Killing The Truck Driver, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

In November 1998, a 32-year-old male truck driver was killed when he was struck by a log that rolled off the top of his tractor trailer truck while preparing the truck for unloading at a sawmill complex. The victim accompanied by his father, had picked up a load of logs and transported them approximately 220 miles to the sawmill complex. He arrived at the mill with the logs secured by straps and stacked well above the standards of the trucks trailer. He drove to an unloading area. The victim and his father exited the truck and while the father waited …

Farmer Killed When Tractor Punctures Gas Line Causing An Explosion, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 62-year-old male was killed when the tractor he was operating punctured an aboveground gas line. He had recently moved to the area and was in the process of acquiring some land for farming. The land was overgrown with weeds and brush about 5 feet high. On a warm, clear afternoon he went out to clear the land with a tractor and rotary mower. Although the incident was unwitnessed, apparently he began mowing the field near a roadway and was likely on the third pass when the front of the tractor ran into an aboveground valve of a natural gas …

Tractor Driver Killed In Overturn While Mowing, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 44-year-old farm owner was killed when the tractor he was driving overturned. Using a rotary mower attached to a Ford 600 tractor, the farmer was mowing an area along the gravel road leading to his home in a very remote area of the county. On the east side was a fence and on the west a brush covered embankment. At the top of the seven-foot embankment was a sloping field that had been mowed earlier in the season. The tractor, having been purchased six weeks earlier, had undergone maintenance work but was not equipped with a Roll Over Protective …

Tractor Operator Killed By Rotary Mower While Mowing Highway Right-Of-Way, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 23-year-old male (the victim) was killed when he fell from the tractor he was operating and was run over by the attached rotary mower. The victim had been mowing near an interstate highway on-ramp at about 1:15 pm, when his right front tractor wheel hit a concrete drainage culvert, apparently jolting him off, into the path of the mower. Although he was working with a crew, none of his co-workers witnessed the event. A passing commercial truck driver saw the victim fall, pulled over, and called emergency medical services (EMS) on his cellular phone. EMS personnel arrived within minutes …

Logger Fatally Injured By Falling Limb, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 60-year-old male logger (the victim) was killed when a falling limb struck him on the head. He had been involved in the logging industry all of his life and had been working for a small logging business for six days when the fatal incident occurred. At about 9 a.m. on the day of the incident, the owner of the company went with the victim to where he would be felling trees. The victim was not wearing any personal protective equipment (PPE). They talked for a few minutes then the owner left on the bulldozer. When he returned 20-25 minutes …

53-Year-Old Dies In Tricycle Tractor Overturn While Transporting Round Bale, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 53-year-old full-time farmer (the victim) was crushed to death when the tractor he was operating overturned. At 1:45 pm, the victim was moving a large round bale of hay with a hay spike mounted on the front of a tractor. The tractor was not equipped with a rollover protective structure (ROPS) or a seatbelt. The farmer, who was sharecropping, was moving rolled hay from a field to a wagon in preparation for transportation to his farm. Hydraulics were used to lift the approximately 1500-pound spiked bale, and the farmer began driving toward the wagon. He proceeded along a tobacco …

66-Year-Old Male Dies In Tractor Overturn While Mowing, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 66-year-old male (the victim) was killed while mowing his farm land. He was driving a Case tractor model 1212 with a front-end loader and 4-foot rotary mower attachments. The tractor had a homemade canopy attached for sun protection but it was not intended to function as a Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS). Tracks in the field show that he had made several passes and had likely worked for about three hours when the incident occurred. It was about 1 p.m. when he began mowing along the edge of the woods that bordered the field. Although the field was relatively flat, …

Farmer Run Over By Tractor, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

An 80-year-old male farmer (the victim) died when he was run over by the right rear wheel of his tractor. He had backed the tractor to the door of a shed in order to hook a tiller to it. After parking the tractor on a slight incline in front of the shed, he left it in neutral while he went inside for the tiller. The parking brake did not hold, however, and the tractor began to roll. He apparently noticed this and tried to remount the tractor, but was knocked down by the wheel and run over. To prevent similar …

Farmer Crushed When Run Over By Tractor And Disc, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 75-year-old farmer was killed when he was run over by a tractor and disc attachment. The farmer attempted to start the engine on a tractor while he stood on the ground beside it, a practice which was not unusual for him. The transmission had been left in gear and when the ignition was started the tractor lurched forward knocking the victim to the ground. The tractor continued to move forward, running over the victim. His wife went to search for him when she realized he had been gone from the house for quite some time. She found him in …

Rear Tractor Rollover Kills Farmer, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 67-year-old male farmer (the victim) died when the tractor he was operating flipped over backward, pinning him between it and another tractor. He and his 13-year-old grandson had been working with a tractor and rotary mower, but got stuck in the mud of a creek bed; approximately one-third of the rear tractor tires were buried in mud. He had gotten a second tractor, attached a chain from the rear of it to the front of the first tractor, and had just begun to try and pull the tractor out when the incident occurred. From evidence at the scene it …

Tractor/Baler Operator Killed In Entanglement, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

An 80-year-old full-time farmer died after being caught under a baler. The victim worked closely with his son on the 300-acre farm. He was working alone, driving a tractor with a baler attached, in an 8-acre field during a midafternoon in May. Having completed a portion of the field in the morning, the victim returned to the field after lunch to complete the task. Rain was forecast and the remainder of the field would take 4-5 hours to complete. The victim's son went to a nearby town to pick up parts for the round baler while the victim used a …

Logger Killed When Struck By Tree Limb During Hauling, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 52-year-old male was killed on a logging site when a tree limb struck him in the back of the head. He had no previous logging experience and had been working with his friend who was a full-time logger for six days when the fatal incident occurred. The two men were working alone on the logging site and it was about 5:30 pm when they chained a load of three logs to the bulldozer to be dragged downhill to be loaded on a truck. A branch that was about 8 feet long and 4-5 inches in diameter stuck out of …

Farmer Killed When Tractor Slides Over Embankment While Mowing, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 56-year-old part-time farmer was killed when the tractor he was driving overturned while mowing. Using a rotary mower attached to the John Deere 1520 tractor, the farmer mowed an area near the roadway that had a gradual downward slope. The tractor was not equipped with a Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS) or seatbelt. After mowing two rows, he made a left turn to begin the third pass when the back tire began to slip in the moist soil underneath the grass. Due to the momentum and weight of the tractor and attachment, the farmer was unable to stop the vehicle. …

Farmer Killed When Tractor Overturns On Embankment, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 44-year-old cattle farmer was killed when the tricycle tractor he was operating overturned. As was his usual practice, the victim had backed the tractor out of the shed near his home, turned to the right and was driving forward, down the embankment to the road which led to the highway. His cattle barn and pasture were located a short distance from his house (1-2 miles), and he regularly drove the tractor there to tend the cattle. On this day, however, the tractor flipped as he came over the embankment, rolling onto the victim. He died at the scene. In …

Farmer Killed When Tractor Turns Over, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 56-year-old farmer was killed when the tricycle tractor he was operating on a hillside overturned. He had been going up and down the hill to bring loads of dirt in the tractor's front-end loader in order to bury a calf. The hillside was relatively steep, and the ground was wet from recent rains. As he attempted to turn with the loader filled and raised, the tractor rolled over several times, crushing the victim. He died at the scene. In order to prevent similar incidents, the FACE investigator recommends:

• Older tractors should be retrofitted with rollover protective structures (ROPS) and …

Logger Killed During Tree Felling, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 61-year-old male logger was killed when he was hit by the tree he was felling. On the day of the incident, he was working on a steep mountainside with his son and another logger. At approximately 10 am, the victim was felling a tree approximately 14 inches in diameter. As viewed from the bottom of the hill, a small tree about 6 inches in diameter stood about 6 feet to the right of the tree that was being felled. Lying on the ground directly behind those two vertical trees was a log 4-5 inches in diameter; it lay perpendicular …

Farmer Killed On Tractor During Logging Operations, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 21-year-old male was killed when he and his 19-year-old brother were engaged in logging activities their grandparents' farmland. They both had grown up helping with the family farm and for the last two years their primary source of income was cutting trees on the land to sell for firewood. After cutting down the trees, the normal routine was for the younger brother to operate the tractor to pull the trees to a clearing where they would be cut into pieces. Although the victim had experience operating tractors, he had never performed that particular task. Because there was no drawbar …

Logger Killed When Struck By Tree, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 59-year-old male was killed when he was struck by a tree while logging on a mountainside. The victim was working with two other men doing contract work for a local lumber company. All three men were full-time loggers and had many years of experience. On the morning of the incident, the men were working on a steep mountainside. One logger was working at the top of the hill operating a skidder that he owned to pull the cut trees up the hill. At the time of the incident, the victim was working about 30-35 feet from the top of …

Mill Owner Dies In Tractor Rollover, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 51-year-old mill owner (the victim) was killed while pulling a 16-foot log from the woods. He had reached the top of a 10-12-degree slope, turned slightly to the left and stopped, when the tractor he was driving turned over. It landed on the victim and then rolled again. The victim's partner, who was with him, ran to a nearby house where he had seen two men working outdoors earlier. He asked them to call 911 and then returned with a backhoe with which to lift the tractor. While he was doing this, emergency medical services (EMS) personnel arrived. The …

Farmer Killed When Caught In Hay Baler, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 48-year-old part-time farmer was using a roll baler to bale hay on his farm around noon on a Saturday. Although there were no eyewitnesses to the event, it is believed that hay became clogged in the tines of the baler and he got off the tractor to try and force the hay in with his foot. His shoe or his pant leg became entangled in the tines of the baler and he was pulled into the machine.

In order to prevent similar incidents, FACE investigators recommend that

• machinery always be turned off before the operator dismounts or attempts to …

Farmer Killed When Crushed By Tractor, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 70-year-old farmer (the victim) was killed while mowing his pasture. He had completed mowing around the top of a ridge, and was beginning to mow the sloping sections, when the power take-off (PTO) shaft connecting the rotary mower (bushhog) to the tractor came off. When he attempted to re-attach the shaft, the tractor began to roll down the steep slope; he lost control as it descended into the hollow. Apparently he attempted to jump from the left side of the tractor and his right foot became wedged between the high/low shift lever; as a result his body went under …

Logger Killed By Falling Snag [96ky089], Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 54-year-old logger (the victim) was killed after being struck on the head by a falling snag (dead standing tree). The victim was cutting the last tree to make up a load (3 trees) for the skidder. The driver was about 10-15 feet away, waiting for the last tree. He did not witness the incident. When the victim felled the tree, a nearby dead tree broke at a point approximately 12 feet up. The dead tree fell directly on the victim, striking him on the crown of the head. He was not wearing any type of head protection at the …

Retired Farmer Thrown From And Run Over By Tractor, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

A 67-year-old retired farmer (the victim) was killed while mowing a field of the family farm. He had made several passes around the field using a rotary mower recently equipped with new blades by his son. At one end of the field was an approximate 20-foot hill of 15-degree slope. The top of this hill was a plateau across which the tractor could be driven in order to ascend at the end which was less steep. The victim had come close to rolling the tractor over in the past, and so it was never his practice to mow across the …

Farmer Killed In Tractor Rollover [96ky088], Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Fatality Case Reports--Tractors/Logging

On August 22, 1996, a 75-year-old farmer was killed when the tractor he was operating rolled over onto him. He was using a 1979 IH Farm all 140, towing a flatbed wagon along the perimeter of a tobacco patch. As he turned left to proceed around the field, the left tractor wheels went over an embankment, causing the tractor to roll over. The victim was crushed under the rear wheel of the overturned tractor and died of traumatic asphyxia due to chest injuries. He was discovered by his son two hours after the incident when he did not return to …