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A contractor had been awarded the job of replacing a town's sewage system. An engineering firm had taken samples for ground conditions, and their report was available to bidders. Sampling via boreholes disclosed ground water
A brick wall collapsed and killed a worker digging in a trench beside it. He had been looking for a water line and had dug down about four feet (1.22 meters). The wall, seven feet
Three employees equipped with respirators were preparing to paint a heat exchanger in a manufacturing plant. Their sandblasting work was almost finished. The portable air compressor used to supply breathing air to the sandblasters' hoods
A concrete worker was electrocuted when a pumping truck boom touched a 34,000-volt power line. He had been manipulating the boom with a hard-wired remote control, preparing to pour concrete into a wooden form. When
A painter was electrocuted and a co-worker survived a fall after they connected with a high voltage overhead power line. The two were using an aluminum extension ladder as they cleaned the brick wall of
Two plumbers had been working in a construction trench. When it was time to come back up to the street level, they rode in the bucket of an excavator. As the excavator operator started to
A worker cleaning the third floor of a warehouse received massive head and chest injuries after falling more than 22 feet (seven meters) to the concrete floor below. No one witnessed the accident so it
A steel drum containing lubricating oil exploded while a worker was heating it with a propane torch. The explosion occurred in cold winter weather in a temporary logging camp. The victim was preparing to replace
A makeshift switch on a sandblasting unit apparently set off an explosion of gasoline vapors killing a worker who was cleaning a petroleum storage tank. The victim had recently been promoted to foreman. His first
A worker was standing on a catwalk, using a vacuum with a long nozzle to clean a fast-moving conveyor belt. It appears the nozzle became caught between two large rollers and pulled the worker into
Three workers, one licensed electrician and two apprentices, were rewiring a residential basement. They were using a 300 watt lightbulb, drawing power from a temporary connection to power wires on an outside pole. The electrician
A laborer at a surface quarry mine was trying to take apart a crane boom to install additional sections. He had trouble removing one of the pins holding two sections together. While underneath an unsupported
A food production worker employed at a pizza dough manufacturing plant was killed when he was struck in the neck by the steel blade on a dough machine. The victim and a co-worker were assigned
A backhoe in poor repair could only be started by using a screwdriver to engage the starter. Besides its inoperable starter button, the backhoe had a broken safety catch on the gear shift. In addition,
The cold storage area of a food warehouse was the scene of a forklift fatality. The victim was working from a standup forklift when he backed into a chain. His neck was pinned between the
A driver working for a shiploader was killed when he backed a forklift off the edge of a pier. There was no barrier or bull rail in place to prevent such a tragedy, but a
A mechanic working for a snowmobile dealer was killed on a test drive. He had worked on the machine, and was trying it out on a public snowmobile trail near his workplace. He was traveling
A worker cleaning metal pieces prior to repainting was found unconscious at his workstation. Resuscitation by co-workers, firefighters and ambulance attendants failed to revive him. Methylene chloride formic acid was suspected as a cause of
A student working on a summer job was electrocuted when a truck-mounted crane he was operating struck a power line. The driver of the truck instructed the student to move the crane, then backed the
A tow truck driver helping a stranded motorist on a busy freeway was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver. The driver had stopped to help a woman whose car had a flat tire. He
Slips, trips and falls rank only behind motor vehicles as the leading cause of industrial deaths in North America. Many of these fatalities involve stairways. Here's an example from the oil and gas industry.
A helicopter pilot and passenger were killed in a crash attributed to horseplay. Witnesses reported seeing two helicopters engaged in what appeared to be games or stunts in the air, dodging and weaving within a
A migrant farm worker died after the tractor he was driving overturned on a country road. The victim, who had no experience driving on public roads, was pulling a load of tobacco when the wagon jack-knifed and broke loose from the tractor.
On average, 5,000 to 6,000 workers are killed each year. Learn from the following reports of real workplace fatalities to avoid a similar fate.
Jose Vega, a 36-year-old construction worker, had a dream of one day reuniting with his little girl, a year after escaping Cuba in a boat.
Since it's your first time, you may want to checkout some of the video tutorials.
800-ICW-SAFETY (800.429.7233)
SAFETYOnDemand@icwgroup.com