Lack of Safeguards Results in Accidental Amputation
Cal/OSHA cited C.C. Myers, Inc. and Terry Equipment, Inc.
Cal/OSHA has issued citations to two companies, C.C. Myers, Inc. and Terry Equipment, Inc., and $90,935 in penalties, following a November 2014 accident in which a 35-year-old employee of C.C. Myers was pulled into an unguarded concrete placer machine. The employee was cleaning the machine and sustained injuries to his right leg that resulted in subsequent complete amputation to the hip bone, according to the agency.
"No employee should be at risk of such a serious injury on the job. Cal/OSHA will hold employers accountable for failing to prevent hazards that threaten the life and livelihood of California's workers," said Christine Baker, Director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR).
An investigation found that both companies failed to implement adequate safety measures. C.C. Myers, Inc. was issued eight citations, including four serious and three serious accident-related citations for failure to place a guard on the auger, as well as lack of safety procedures such as lockout/tagout and related employee training. Terry Equipment, Inc., which owned the machine, was issued one serious citation for neglecting to place a guard on it.
"All workers have the right to return home safe and healthy after a hard day of work," said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum. "While employers are directly in charge of mitigating dangers and ensuring that workers have proper safety training, suppliers also have the responsibility to protect workers by correcting any safety defects their equipment may have."
Cal/OSHA reported the accident occurred around 6:30 p.m. on the eastbound median of Highway 4 in Antioch, Calif. Employees of C.C. Myers had lined up trucks full of concrete to dump into the concrete placer machine, and the victim was assigned to help a co-worker perform cleaning and maintenance of the hopper, even though neither worker had been provided safety training to do so. "While standing on top of the hopper chipping away at the concrete inside, the victim slipped and his leg was pulled into a rotating steel auger located inside the hopper," the agency reported. "The emergency switch was not shut off in time, and he was transported to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek where he spent 12 days in recovery."
Cal/OSHA's investigation found that both C.C. Myers of Rancho Cordova and Terry Equipment of Bloomington, the company that leased the concrete placer, failed to implement adequate safety measures.