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Land owner pinned by tractor bucket when working in ditch.

Michigan State University

Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 12MI059, 2014 Feb; :1-5

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/mi/12MI059.html

20044104

In summer 2012, a male land owner in his 70s died when his Massey Ferguson Model 65 tractor equipped with a front end loader bucket slid down a drainage ditch bank, pinning him between the bucket and the opposite ditch bank. He was clearing the ditch of weeds and small trees, for both drainage purposes and in preparation of repair to the culvert providing access to a field adjacent to his home that he rented to a farmer. The decedent placed the tractor on the south side of the ditch, near the ditch edge, with the bucket located over the ditch. He dismounted from the tractor, leaving the tractor idling in neutral. He did not apply the parking brake. The decedent entered the ditch to tie a chain around a small tree and tall weeds so he could pull them out using the bucket. He had placed the chain around the tree and attached the chain to the bucket when the tractor slid down the ditch bank. The bucket struck his head and then pinned him across his back against the north wall of the ditch. His spouse saw the tractor position and ran to investigate. She began to call for help as she drew near the incident scene. Neighbors responded, and one of them mounted the tractor and applied the parking brake while another neighbor called for emergency response. Emergency response arrived, lifted the bucket from the decedent, and declared him dead at the scene. Factors Involved: 1. Improper tractor operation -tractor left running, no brake application, bucket raised on sloped area near ditch when he dismounted 2. Misuse of the tractor's loader bucket 3. Working on the ground in the travel path of the tractor.

Region-5; Accident-analysis; Accident-potential; Accident-prevention; Accidents; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Traumatic-injuries; Agriculture; Machine-operation; Tractors; Motor-vehicles; Agricultural-workers; Farmers; Agricultural-machinery; Agricultural-industry; Author Keywords: Tractor; Front end loader; Crushed by loader bucket; Drainage ditch; Agriculture

20140211

Field Studies; Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation

Cooperative Agreement

2014

PB2014-105933

A01

FACE-12MI059; Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U60-OH-008466; M042014

NAICS-11

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

MI; WV

Michigan State University