Tree Service Foreman Fatally Injured While Repairing a Skid-steer Loader – Massachusetts

SUMMARY

On January 23, 2015 a 38-year-old male foreman for a tree service company (victim) was fatally injured while repairing a skid-steer loader with the lift arm and bucket attachment in the raised position. The victim was standing in front of the skid-steer under the raised lift arm and bucket while performing the repair that involved removing one of the loader’s high pressure hydraulic lines. Once the hydraulic line was removed, the victim was crushed against the loader’s frame when the lift arm and bucket came down. The victim’s employer arrived on site and found the victim. A call was immediately placed for emergency medical services (EMS). EMS and local police arrived within minutes. The Jaws of Life were used to free the victim. The victim was pronounced dead at the incident location.

Contributing factors identified in this investigation were working under an unsupported raised load, lift arm support device not engaged to prevent the lift arm from lowering, and lack of a safety and health program and lockout/tagout procedures.

Tree Service Foreman Fatally Injured While Repairing a Skid-steer Loader – Massachusetts [PDF 383 KB]