Farm Worker Dies during Grain BIn Auger Entanglement

New York Case Report: 04NY121

The following report is the product of our Cooperative State partner and is presented here in its original unedited form from the state. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the individual Cooperative State partner and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

SUMMARY

On November 9th, 2004 a 53-year-old farm worker was killed when he became entangled in a grain bin auger. At the time of the incident, the victim was cleaning the remaining wheat out of a grain bin when he became entangled in the sweep auger that was moving around the floor of the bin. Hooks on the sweep auger caught the material on the worker’s pants and his legs were subsequently entangled in the auger. A co-worker working nearby heard the drive belts begin to squeal and after turning off the drive mechanism, discovered the entangled victim. The co-worker immediately asked the farm owner to call 911 while he and another worker went to the aid of the victim. The coworkers cut the material of the victim’s pants loose and worked to disentangle the victim’s legs from the auger. Emergency responders arrived within minutes and transported the victim via ambulance to the nearby hospital where the victim was stabilized prior to being transported via helicopter to the nearest major trauma center. The victim died from his injuries six hours later at the trauma center.

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