OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14200380
GENERAL REFRACTORIES CO
BALTIMORE, MD—
Event description
EMPLOYEE KILLED WHEN STRUCK BY MAST OF FORKLIFT
Investigation abstract
A mechanic was preparing the remaining equipment from a closed machine shop for f a powered industrial truck (Caterpillar Model No. 373949). He operated the tru ck from outside the left side of the truck. He raised the forks approximately 12 ft, raising the gear and shaft to the vertical position. As the momentum shifte d, the truck tipped over towards the left. The employee was struck by the mast, and trapped with his right leg crushed. A security guard later found the employe e dead. disassembly and resale. The employee was to assist the removal company in determ ining what to remove. A bull gear and crank shaft weighing 6600 lbs had been rem oved from a 1000-10n Chisholm, Boyd, and White brick press and stored in the hor izontal position awaiting removal and resale. The removal company informed the e mployee that many things needed to be done before moving the gear and shaft. Rem oval company employees left the area intending to return later to complete the t ask. The employee attempted to upright the bull gear and shaft to the vertical p osition by himself. He attached a 12-ft length of 1-in. chain to the left fork o
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 51 M
- Nature of injury
- 21
- Part of body
- 1
- Event type
- 1
- Source
- 27
- Occupation code
- 519
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 6
- Task assigned
- 1
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.