Brent Fox: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Feb 18, 2022 (fatal): Employee is killed when run over by skid steer

The worksite is the national forest, and the work being performed at the site was logging. Employees were collecting tree logs and transporting them to be processed and staged at the landing. One employer with two employees and two independent contractors were actively working the site. Employee #1 is the Supervisor for the employer. The accident occurred on February 18, 2022 at 3:15 p.m. DOSH learned about the accident when the employer called DOSH to report the incident on February 18, 2022 at approximately 9:00 p.m. The employer complied with reporting requirements. DOSH arrived on February 22, 2022 at approximately 2:30 p.m. to open an investigation. Prior to the accident, a coworker, an independent contractor, was operating a skidder in the forest. Nearby, was Employee #1 operating a John Deere 648GIII skid steer. Employee #1 and the coworker were collecting fallen tree logs and using the skidders to transport the logs to a landing approximately 800 feet away. As the coworker was driving his skidder, he noticed the other skidder stopped. A few minutes later, the coworker sees Employee #1 on the ground, waving a stick, so the coworker stops the skidder, exits, and walks over to Employee #1, who is lying on the ground in front of the skidder. Employee #1 tells the coworker he jumped off the skidder because it had stopped and was rolling backwards, so he jumped out and was run over. One factor contributing to the accident was the throttle cable detaching, resulting in loss of control as skidder was rolling backwards towards the nearby ravine. The skidder subsequently wedged itself on a tree stump, stopping the skidder from further movement. No accident-related citation to be issued; other citations to be issued. Employee #1 was killed due to blunt force trauma.