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SUMMARY: CASE 192-548-01
A tractor driver was pulling a discer through an apricot orchard. A discer is made of two rows of round metal blades that the tractor drags through the soil. The driver looked over his shoulder to check the discer. As he turned to face forward again, a low tree branch hit him on the head and knocked him off the tractor.
The driver fell between the back of the tractor and the discer. The tractor was still pulling the discer forward. The driver rolled as far out of the way as he could. A blade of the discer caught his forearm and cut it to the bone. Luckily, the tractor ran into a tree and stalled, so the blade was not pulled all the way across the driver's arm.
He did not have a phone or radio to call for help. Also, he was working alone. The driver walked to a house about a quarter mile away, where he called for an ambulance.
How could this injury have been prevented?
BACKGROUND
On November 18, 1992, the NURSE staff received a telephone call from a rural ambulance service. That morning they had responded to a agricultural injury in an apricot orchard. A tractor driver was knocked off his tractor by a branch, then run over by the farm implement (discer) his tractor was pulling. The driver sustained a laceration to his forehead, and his right forearm was almost severed.
A nurse from the NURSE Project interviewed the worker in his home on November 23, 1992. On December 4, 1992, the nurse discussed the incident, by telephone, with one of the orchard's owners. On December 17, 1992, the nurse conducted an on-site investigation. NURSE staff also reviewed the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) ambulance record and the hospital medical records.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) was not notified and did not investigate the incident.
During the telephone interview, the farm owner stated that he had a written safety program. However, this program was not available for review at the time of the site visit. During this visit, the nurse outlined the seven point injury prevention program required by Title 8 California Code of Regulations 3203 -- Injury and Illness Prevention Program. The farmer said that his written plan covered five of the seven points, but lacked the written hazard communication and hazard evaluation components. (As of July 1, 1991 the State of California requires all employers to have a written seven point injury prevention program: 1. designated safety person responsible for implementing the program; 2. mode for ensuring employee compliance; 3. hazard communication; 4. hazard evaluation through periodic inspections; 5. injury investigation procedures; 6. intervention process for correcting hazards; and 7. provide safety training and instruction.)
The incident took place in an apricot orchard owned and operated by a father and son. The farm includes grape vineyards and apricot, plum, and nectarine orchards that cover approximately 1,000 acres. The farm employs 4 full-time workers, 20 casual workers (working 1-12 weeks per year), 50 seasonal workers (working 13-37 weeks per year), and 2 family members.
The injured tractor driver had worked for the farm owners for nine years and had eight years of experience in discing. He stated that he had received safety training in discing. He told the nurse that two years ago he had experienced a similar incident where a branch hit him and cut his head, but had not knocked him off his tractor.
INCIDENT
On November 18, 1992, at approximately 8:30 a.m., a 42 year-old male Hispanic tractor driver was working alone, discing the ground between rows of fruit trees. A discer has two rows of round metal blades. The blades are dragged through the ground by a tractor, which breaks up and cultivates the soil. The tractor used was a low profile tractor, that is, a tractor with a low center of gravity and a wide wheelbase.
The tractor driver entered an apricot orchard after discing the rows between plum trees. The tractor was about 60 feet into the new row, traveling at an estimated speed of 4-5 miles per hour. The driver turned around to check that his discer was properly aligned in the row. The moving tractor passed under a low branch. As he turned to face forward, this branch struck him on the forehead and knocked him off the tractor. He fell off the back of the tractor, into the space between the tractor and the discer he was pulling.
There was a distance of about ten feet between the back of the tractor and the front of the discer. The driver rolled as far out of the path of the moving discer as he could. The tractor continued moving, but veered to the right, in the direction of the tractor driver. One of the discer blades ran over his right forearm, lacerating it almost to the bone. Before completely severing the arm, the tractor and discer hit a tree and stopped.
The injured tractor driver received a deep, four inch laceration to his forearm, and a minor laceration to his forehead from the branch. He got up and walked about one-quarter mile to the nearest house to seek help. The homeowner called 911. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) received the call at 8:49 a.m., and arrived on the scene at 8:55 a.m. They immobilized him, applied dressings to his forehead to stop the bleeding, and applied a splint to his right arm. An IV was started and oxygen administered. The injured tractor driver was taken to the nearest hospital, arriving at 9:19 a.m. His forehead was stitched in the emergency department. He was given pain medication, admitted to the hospital, and taken to the surgery unit to repair his right arm laceration. He also suffered multiple abrasions and experienced back pain. The injured tractor driver was discharged from the hospital the next day with appointments for follow-up visits to have his stitches removed. At the time of the interview, five days after the incident, he told the nurse from the NURSE Project that he was experiencing severe back pain and dizziness.
PREVENTION STRATEGIESFURTHER INFORMATION
For further information concerning this incident or other agriculture-related injuries, please contact:
NURSE
Project
California Occupational Health Program
Berkeley office:
2151 Berkeley Way, Annex 11
Berkeley, California 94704
(510) 849-5150
Fresno
office:
1111 Fulton Mall, Suite 212
Fresno, California 93721
(209) 233-1267
Salinas
office:
1000 South Main St., Suite 306
Salinas, California 93901
(408) 757-2892
Publication #: CDHS(COHP)-FI-93-005-26
This document was extracted from a series of the Nurses Using Rural Sentinal Events (NURSE) project, conducted by the California Occupational Health Program of the California Department of Health Services, in conjunction with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Publication date: March 1993.
The NURSE (Nurses Using Rural Sentinel Events) project is conducted by the California Occupational Health Program of the California Department of Health Services, in conjunction with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The program's goal is to prevent occupational injuries associated with agriculture. Injuries are reported by hospitals, emergency medical services, clinics, medical examiners, and coroners. Selected cases are followed up by conducting interviews of injured workers, co-workers, employers, and others involved in the incident. An on-site safety investigation is also conducted. These investigations provide detailed information on the worker, the work environment, and the potential risk factors resulting in the injury. Each investigation concludes with specific recommendations designed to prevent injuries, for the use of employers, workers, and others concerned about health and safety in agriculture.
Disclaimer and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission of the author and/or copyright holder. More
