California Department of Health Services
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SUMMARY: CASE
193-378-01
A forklift
driver was moving boxes at a raisin packaging plant. The forklift
he was driving was rented. It kept losing radiator fluid out
the radiator overflow hose, so every few hours he added water.
Suddenly,
the radiator cap blew off his forklift. Hot radiator fluid
scorched the skin on his back and arm. He jumped off the forklift
and bruised his right leg. A co-worker quickly poured cold
water over the burned forklift driver. Then a supervisor drove
him to the doctor.
An ambulance
immediately moved him to the burn unit at another medical
center. He spent 13 days in the hospital with 20% total body
burns.
How
could this injury have been prevented?
- Employers
should provide ongoing forklift safety training to workers.
This training should include how to handle minor mechanical
problems.
- Workers
should report equipment malfunctions to supervisors.
- Workers
and employers should call 911 if someone has a burn injury.
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
NASD Review: 04/2002
This
document,
CDHS(COHB)-FI-93-005-30
,
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: November 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.
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