This document is a summary of a larger document in english.
SUMMARY : CASE 192-207-01
A farm worker was driving a mechanical harvester in a fig orchard. This harvester swept up the figs from the orchard ground. Then, a conveyor belt carried the figs past a big fan on the side of the machine which blew the dirt off them. A metal cover guarded the fan blades, but not the fan's exhaust outlet. Before his lunch break, the worker left the fan running and stood in front of the exhaust outlet, blowing the dirt and dust off his clothing. His foot entered the exhaust outlet to where it could touch the fan blades, about nine inches inside. The fan blades amputated his foot below the ankle.
A co-worker turned off the harvester, and the worker's foreman called 911 from a truck. Paramedics took the worker and his severed foot to the hospital. The foot was too mangled for doctors to sew back on. Later, doctors amputated his left leg below the knee so he could use an artificial leg.
How could this injury have been prevented?
Publication #: CDHS(COHP)-FI-92-005-21
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: December 1992.
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
