California Department of Health Services
This document
is available in spanish. (Este documento está disponible
en español.)
This document is a summary of a larger
document in english.
SUMMARY : CASE
192-163-01
A farm
labor contractor was hired to pick a plum orchard as quickly
as possible. The field supervisor was in such a hurry that
he skipped the usual morning safety meeting and sent the crew
straight to work. The supervisor then left the field, without
watching to see if the workers were picking safely.
Plums
are often picked from ten foot ladders which weigh about 25
pounds. Each worker moves his ladder from place to place under
a tree to easily reach plums. For one worker, this was his
first day on the job. Standing on one of the top steps of
a ladder, he reached for some plums that were beyond his reach.
He lost his balance and fell off the ladder, hitting the ground
eight feet below. The ladder fell on top of him and broke
his ankle.
The
only person trained in first aid was the field supervisor,
who had left the orchard. The foreman put the injured worker
in the back of his pickup truck and drove him to the hospital.
At the hospital, the worker's ankle was put in a splint. He
was still wearing the splint and out of work at the time of
this investigation.
How
could this injury have been prevented?
- Train
all employees in work methods, whether full-time or seasonal.
Do not allow workers to begin work without any safety training.
- All
workers, including supervisors and foremen, should be trained
in how to handle emergency situations; for example, calling
911 instead of moving the injured person.
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(COHP)-FI-92-005-18
,
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: October 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.
|