OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221463003

PALOMAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

SAN MARCOS, CA· 2021-09-22T00:00:00

Event: Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Brush Chipper, Chipper, Chipping, Chute, Clearing, Clogged, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Fracture, Ground, Ground Crew Worker, Groundskeeper, Landscaper, Landscaping, Lost Balance, Maintenance, Wood Chipper
NAICS: 611310
Inspection type: Accident-driven
Activity number: #345966154
Employer profile: PALOMAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
Summary number: 221463003
Report ID: 0950632

Event description

Employee sustains multiple fractures in fall from woodchippe

Investigation abstract

At 10:00 a.m. on September 22, 2021, an employee working as a groundskeeper for nearly 3 feet from the machine. The employee was hospitalized to treat multiple fractures from impact with the ground. a community college district was operating a woodchipper. The employee and a coworker were using the chipper to mulch branches and other debris at the site. The operation came to a stop when the chute got clogged. The employee stopped the machine. He then obtained some tools and removed the bolts holding the chute in place. As the employee was working on the machine, the chute started to detach from the chipper. The employee noticed that it was falling off and so he tried to hold it with his hand. That was when he realized that the chute was too heavy and he let it go. At that moment, the employee lost his balance and fell

Victim

#1 Hospitalized Age 46 M

Event type
5

Occupation code
486

Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.