Town highway department mechanic crushed when truck fell off jack stand —New York
New York Case Report: 20NY030
SUMMARY
On October 21, 2020, a mechanic for a town highway department was fatally injured around 8:30 AM in the morning while he was in the process of changing air brake canisters on a truck in the town highway department garage. The truck at the time was undergoing routine maintenance in preparation for the winter months. The decedent had placed a jack under the passenger side rear axle wheel hub of the truck after removing the wheel to access the air brake canister. The truck transmission was in neutral, and the wheels were otherwise not chocked, with no supplemental support or cribbing except for a 12-ton jack stand under the passenger side rear wheel hub.
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
Key contributing factors identified in this investigation include:
- Truck wheels were not chocked
- Truck had been left in neutral, with keys in cab of truck
- No secondary support methods were used besides the 12-ton jack stand
RECOMMENDATIONS
New York FACE investigators concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should:
- Ensure employees use wheel chocks and cribbing during truck maintenance
Town highway department mechanic crushed when truck fell off jack stand —New York [PDF 2,236 KB]