Youth Farm Worker Pinned Under Overturned Horse-Drawn Manure Sled
SUMMARY:
A 16-year-old male farm worker (the victim) died when a horse-drawn sled loaded with manure
overturned on him. The victim had driven the horses with the sled to a snow-covered hillside
about a half-mile from the farmstead to spread the load of cow and horse manure. He was in the
wooden box that was piled high with manure, using a pitchfork to throw it out the back of the
box. The long rectangular box sat on the cross braces attached to the sled runners. (Figure 1)
Wooden dowels projected up from the cross braces and through the bottom of the box to prevent
the box from shifting side-to-side. Apparently, the box tipped sideways off the runners, trapping
the victim under the load and the box. When the horses returned to the farmstead pulling the sled
runners, the victim's family went to the field and found him under the box. They removed the box
and went to a neighbor' house to contact authorities. The coroner, EMS and sheriff responded.
The coroner pronounced the victim dead at the scene. The FACE investigator concluded that, to
prevent similar occurrences, farmers who use box sleds should :
design and build the sled box with secure attachments to the runners
ensure the loaded sled box maintains a low center of gravity
INTRODUCTION:
On January 13, 2000, a 16-year-old male dairy farm worker died when a horse-drawn sled box
loaded with manure tipped over and he was pinned underneath. The Wisconsin FACE field
investigator learned of the incident through the death certificate on March 9, 2000. On May 2, 2000,
the field investigator visited the farm and interviewed the victim's father. The FACE investigator
also obtained the death certificate and the coroner and sheriff's reports, and a report from the state
climatologist.
This incident occurred on a dairy farm operated by the victim's family. The family moved to the
farm from another state several years ago, and did not employ non-family workers on the farm.
Horses were used for personal transportation and to pull field equipment. The victim had observed
and participated in farming activities from his early youth years, and gained on-the-job safety
training from his family. He participated in the farm activities on a full-time basis, while also
maintaining a trapline for fur-bearing animals on the farm property. He was experienced in driving
a team of horses, and with using a team to draw farm equipment. The sled box that was involved
in the incident was constructed by the farm family members several months before the incident. He
had used the sled with the box to spread manure on cold days prior to the incident.
INVESTIGATION
On the afternoon of the incident, the victim completed his usual daily farm chores, including
removing the cow and horse manure from the barn to spread on the farm's crop fields. At least six
inches of snow had fallen during the early morning prior to the incident, so he chose to transport the
manure to the field with the horse-drawn sled instead of a wagon. Earlier in the winter season, the
farmer and the victim had constructed a rectangular open wooden box to use with the sled runners
for hauling manure. They designed and built it to rest on the runner braces, with wooden dowels
uniting the braces and the bottom of the box. This design allowed the farmers quickly lift the box
off the runners for storage, or to replace it with other sled-based devices.
The farm worker filled the box with manure, until it was piled higher than the
sides of the box. At about 4:00 PM, he attached the sled tongue to the horse harness, climbed into the box, and drove the
horses with the loaded sled about one-half mile to a snow-covered hill. While standing in the box,
he began to pitch the manure over the sides and rear of the box. The grade on the hill was about 25,
and the long edge of the sled box was parallel to the crosswise axis of the hill. There were no
witnesses to the event, but apparently the box tipped downhill off the runners, trapping the victim
under the overturned box and its load. The horses returned to the farmstead drawing the sled runners.
When the family saw the horses, they went to the farm field and found the victim under the box.
They removed the box and went to a neighbor's house to contact authorities. The coroner, EMS and
sheriff responded. The coroner pronounced the victim dead at the scene
CAUSE OF DEATH:
The death certificate listed the cause of death as multiple internal trauma.
RECOMMENDATIONS/DISCUSSION
Recommendation #1: Farmers who use box sleds should design and build the box
with secure attachments to the runners.
Discussion: The sled box in this incident was secured to the runners with wooden dowels that
prevented the box from shifting sideways. However, the dowels did not prevent the box from tipping
off the runners. The box could be secured to the runner braces by bolts or by inserting a pin through
an extension of the dowel above the bottom surface of the box.
Note: At the time of the site visit, the box had been secured to the runner braces with bolts.
Recommendation #2: Farmers who use box sleds should ensure the loaded box
maintains a low center of gravity.
Discussion: The location of an object's center of gravity (CG) determines its stability on a surface.
An object with a high CG will tip more easily than an object with a low CG. The design of the sled
base and box, and the weight and placement of the load in the box must be considered to determine
the CG. The CG of the box sled could be lowered by increasing the distance between the runners
and decreasing the distance of the box to the ground. When the box is loaded, the CG will be higher
than for an empty box. Spreading the load evenly in the box, and avoiding high loads would maintain
the CG at a lower level that is less likely to cause the sled box to tip.
FATAL ASSESSMENT AND CONTROL EVALUATION (FACE) PROGRAM
FACE 00WI02501
Staff members of the FACE Project of the Wisconsin Division of Health, Bureau
of Public Health, do FACE investigations when a work-related fatal machine-related,
youth worker or road construction work-zone death is reported. The goal of these
investigations is to prevent fatal work injuries in the future by studying:
the working environment, the worker, the task the worker was performing, the
tools the worker was using, the energy exchange resulting in fatal injury and
the role of management in controlling how these factors interact.
To contact Wisconsin
State FACE program personnel regarding State-based FACE reports, please
use information listed on the Contact Sheet on the NIOSH FACE web site. Please
contact In-house FACE
program personnel regarding In-house FACE reports and to gain assistance
when State-FACE program personnel cannot be reached.
