OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221698467
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
ORINDA, CA—
Event description
Employee suffers fatal asthma attack while trimming weeds
Investigation abstract
At 10:30 a.m. on September 4, 2024, Employee #1, a 41-year-old maintenance worker for the California Department of Transportation, was using a weed eater to clear vegetation along a freeway. During the task, he suffered an asthma attack. His inhaler either malfunctioned or could not be used effectively due to breathing difficulty. Emergency services were not called immediately, and instead, the employer attempted to transport Employee #1 to a hospital, which caused a significant delay in receiving treatment. Employee #1 died as emergency medical services arrived on scene. The cause of death was an asthma attack.
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 41 M
- Event type
- 14
- Occupation code
- 7028
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.