We hear it often… “Who would turn the machine on while I’m working on it?” It happens more often than most think.
Employee # 1 and Coworker #1, Coworker #2, and Coworker #3 were cleaning two (2) concrete mixers.
Employee #1 was paired with Coworker #1 to clean out a mixer.
Employee #1 entered Mixer #1 and began chipping out the concrete build-up while Coworker #1 removed debris from the outside of the machine.
Coworker #2 and Coworker #3 were cleaning out Mixer #2 using the same process.
Employee #1 had exited Mixer #1 and was leaning over the opening to retrieve a power tool when Coworker#2 exited the mixer and asked Coworker #3 to bump the blades of Mixer #2 to remove inaccessible concrete.
Coworker #3 activated Mixer #1 instead of Mixer #2, and Employee #1 was caught between the rotating blades and the machine’s body.
Employee #1 was pulled into the machine and was killed due to a near decapitation to the back of the skull and neck, a jaw fracture, and fractures to the left elbow.
