Dairy Farm Owner Dies During Manure Pump (PTO) Entanglement

New York Case Report: 04NY010

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 February 20th, 2004 a 53-year-old dairy farm owner was fatally injured while transferring manure from an underground storage pit to a manure lagoon. At the time of the incident, the farmer was utilizing a manure pump that was connected to a John Deere 4230 tractor via a power take-off (PTO) shaft. The farmer reached across the unshielded PTO shaft in order to operate a hand crank that would turn the manure pump chute. As he did this, his clothing became entangled in the PTO shaft, wrapping the farmer’s body around the shaft. A co-worker who discovered the victim immediately called 911. Emergency rescuers responded promptly. The victim was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.

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