Engine Hood Crushes Worker

A maintenance worker was repairing a piece of heavy construction equipment when he was crushed to death by the engine hood.

He had driven to the construction site after hours with an assistant who went to work on another piece of equipment located a couple hundred feet away.

It is not known why the hood fell, but it appeared to have had broken hinges and defective shock absorbers. These defects had been reported earlier but had not been repaired. There were also strong winds at the time of the incident.

The assistant found the worker some time after the hood fell. He used a cellular telephone to call for help, but was unable to give his location to emergency responders because he was not familiar with the area.

This fatality report reinforces the need for a number of safety precautions. Effective communications and safe work procedures requiring the worker to check in periodically would have been appropriate. Overhead loads must be properly blocked before working under them. Equipment should be regularly inspected. Defects such as the broken hood supports should be documented and repairs should be done before the equipment is used again. Emergency numbers and the location of the worksite should be posted so emergency responders can be directed to the site.