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814 Heavy Equipment Safety
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Real-life Accident

Backhoe Strikes Worker

A contractor was operating a backhoe when an employee attempted to walk between the swinging superstructure of the backhoe and a concrete wall.

Proper training could have prevented this employee fatality.

As the employee approached from the operator's blind side, the superstructure hit the victim, crushing him against the wall. Employees had not been trained in safe work practices, and no barricades had been erected to prevent employee access to a hazardous area.