Iowa FACE Program
Fatal Injuries in Iowa
Related To Loading Equipment
Jan. 1995 -- Jan. 1999

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
95IA00101	2-7-95	213	551	919.0	Farmer

Summary Case Report: A 37-year-old farmer was trying to clean the operating pedals of a skid-steer loader, which were frozen with manure, snow, and ice. Working in a cold, small garage with a low ceiling, which prevented use of the machine’s lift arm locks. The bucket was stuck in the ¾-raised position. The victim had disabled the seatbelt safety interlock and the bucket came down on him when he loosened the pedals or linkage with a crowbar.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
95IA00601	4-16-95	191	551	919.0	Farmer

Summary Case Report: Victim was a 75 -year-old farmer working alone loading manure with an older narrow-front tractor equipped with a front-end loader. Working in a sloped barn yard, he was moving in a reverse turn with the bucket raised, and full of manure. The tractor was tipped to the side and to the front, increasing its instability even further, and it probably tipped over when he applied the brakes during his turn. It rolled completely over crushing and killing the man.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
95IA01601	4-8-95	191	551	919.0	Farmer

Summary Case Report: An 81-year-old farmer was replacing a worn hydraulic hose on a tractor equipped with a front-end loader. With the bucket raised the victim removed a hose connection allowing the bucket to fall by gravity, pinning him to the tractor. He was rescued within 5 minutes by his son who administered cpr, but the victim never responded, even after the arrival of ambulance personnel.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
95IA01701	3-3-95	191	551	916	Farmer

Summary Case Report: A 61-year-old farmer and retired maintenance worker was in process of cutting trees and moving logs. Victim was using a backhoe with loader to position a cut tree onto wood pile, using front bucket to pick up large tree with many limbs intact. The tree rolled off the bucket and a branch hit the victim in the face and neck. He was found pinned in the tractor seat with blue facial color. CPR by wife and EMT crew was ineffective.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
95IA01901	3-6-95	3275	872	919.2	Dock Worker

Summary Case Report: A 57-year-old loading dock worker was helping to load sheet rock onto a flat bed truck. While a partner was using a heavy duty forklift to position a large load of sheet rock, the forklift suddenly lurched forward pinning the victim to the truck, causing extensive injuries to chest and abdomen. He died instantly from a ruptured aorta and other major blood vessels.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
95IA02901	8-26-95	139	551	919.0	Farmer

Summary Case Report: A 39-year-old farmer and vocational agricultural instructor was loading hay onto wagon on a side hill. The wagon was unattached to the tractor. It started to roll backwards. Farmer downhill from the wagon raised front-end loader of tractor to stop rolling. Wagon kept coming and overturned the tractor killing him instantly. The victim's 11-year-old son, riding with his father, was thrown off and crushed his arm; his13-year-old son was an eyewitness and ran for help.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
95IA03301	9-1-95	5015	611	916.0	Salvage Mechanic

Summary Case Report: A 27-year-old mechanic working in auto salvage yard was working under a wrecked car supported by a heavy duty forklift. An inexperienced friend was driving the forklift and the car was poorly balanced on the forks. The victim grabbed onto the undercarriage to kick off a loosened wheel, and the car tipped to its front and rapidly slid off the forks crushing the mechanic.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
95IA04101	2-2-95	1521	642	919.2	Construction Laborer

Summary Case Report: A 30-year-old partner in a construction business was crushed by the bucket of a skid-steer loader. The victim, in the process of moving a house, was working alone changing the battery in a skid-steer loader, working under the raised bucket. The bucket had no supports or bracing. He apparently tripped the hydraulic lever and the bucket came down pinning him to the frame. He was trapped for an estimated 20 minutes. He was DOA at the hospital.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
96IA01401	4-18-96	191	551	916	Farmer

Summary Case Report: A 61-year-old farmer was using a tractor with front end loader to push down a tree that had partially blown down last winter. Using the loader bucket he pushed on the tree, it came loose from its base and fell towards the tractor, knocking the man backwards off his tractor seat. The man received massive internal chest injuries and died within a few minutes. His son saw the accident and called the ambulance. 

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
96IA01501	4-16-96	191	551	919.0	Farmer

Summary Case Report: A 50-year-old male farmer was filling in dirt along a creek bank using a skid-steer loader. The loader got too close to the edge and rolled completely over landing upright in the creek bed. The farmer remained partially in the loader seat but received massive head injuries when the loader overturned. The protective top of the machine had been removed by the victim to accommodate short ceilings in hog buildings were the machine was used.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
96IA05801	4-2-96	213	551	919.0	Farmer

Summary Case Report: A 80-year-old farmer was using an older tricycle tractor with a front-end loader to fill in dirt while putting in a new fence on his farm. He was working horizontally on a hillside when the tractor rolled 180 degrees crushing him underneath. The tractor had no ROPS. The man was killed instantly. Incident was unwitnessed.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
96IA06101	10-7-96	191	561	919.0	Farmwife

Summary Case Report: A 51-year-old farmer's wife was helping her husband and son construct a new house on their farm. Mother and son were standing between the tractor loader bucket and the house foundation holding down drainage tiling while the son filled in with gravel from the bucket. When the husband raised the front-end bucket to dump the load, they became pinned to the wall. Farmer suspects brake failure, but diagram shows other factors. Mother died of ruptured aorta.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
97IA02801	04-18-97	1521	642	919.2	Laborer

Summary Case Report: A 20 year old part-time laborer for a residential construction company was helping co-workers unload drywall from a truck using a skid-steer loader equipped with front forks. The loader tipped forward because the load was too heavy. Several workers stood on the rear of the loader to balance the load, but the drywall shifted, then fell down causing the machine to buck up and down. This action threw the men off the machine; the victim's head was crushed under the rear of the loader.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
97IA03101	05-10-97	191	551	919.0	Farmer

Summary Case Report: A 60-year-old farmer was using an older skid-steer loader to remove bushes and trees along a fence line. He had a chain attached to a tree with the other end hooked to the loader bucket. After raising the bucket and partially pulling up the bush, he apparently leaned forward to remove or adjust the chain, accidentally falling or leaning on the right foot pedal, which controlled the bucket lift arms. The bucket came down and pinned him to the machine. The seat-actuated hydraulic interlock had previously been disabled

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
97IA05701	08/24/97	212	551	919.0	farmer

 Summary Case Report: 71 year old cattle farmer was using an older narrow-front tractor with loader to feed cattle at his farm. While driving near the top edge of an earthen silage pit, the right rear wheel fell into the corner of the pit and the tractor overturned into the pit area, which was 7 1/2 feet deep. He was thrown from the tractor, not pinned under it, and suffered fatal chest injuries. He had history of advanced heart disease. No ROPS were on the tractor. 

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
97IA07301	09/08/97	1791	643	925.2	iron worker

 Summary Case Report: 22 year old iron worker was driving a forklift carrying sheet metal panels on a jobsite. His brother was riding the machine, hanging onto the side. The victim raised the load and contacted 7200 volt power lines. The brother jumped off the machine and was OK. The victim got stuck trying to jump, his brother yanked him away from machine and both were then shocked. The brother received non-fatal electrical injuries. 

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
98IA02301	2/4/97	272	551	9190	horse farmer

Summary Case Report: 63 year old man raised horses on an acreage. He was driving an older narrow-front tractor with front-end loader, clearing snow from a farm driveway. He did not turn sharp enough into the farm lane, or drove too close to the edge of the driveway, and went over the east bank. The tractor hit a tree stump and flipped over in the ditch. He was thrown from the tractor and received fatal injuries. No ROPS.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
98IA03001	3/9/97	213	551	9190	hog farmer

Summary Case Report: 40 year old hog farmer was found dead by his wife, pinned between the loader bucket of a skid-steer loader and rafters of a hog shed. He apparently leaned forward out of the machine, and tripped a control which raised the bucket. The engine was cold and had evidently run out of gas before it shut down. The man died from suffocation.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
98IA03801	5/9/98	191	551	9190	farmer

Summary Case Report: 52 year old accountant and farmer was using an older narrow-front tractor to move dirt, filling in a ravine. He was traveling across the side of a hill with a load of dirt in his raised bucket when the tractor overturned pinning him underneath one of the rear tires. He was described as an overly cautious worker, and relatives suspect the load may have shifted. The tractor did not have a ROPS (roll over protective structure).

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
98IA05001	8/6/98	191	551	9190	farmer

Summary Case Report:70 year old farmer was moving round bales of hay using an old narrow- front tractor with front-end loader. He was working on a side hill. He picked up a bale, turned 180 degrees to go up a slight hill, and overturned the tractor. The farmer was pinned under the tractor with the steering wheel crushing his chest. He was found dead several hours later by family members. No ROPS was on the tractor.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
98IA05801	9/14/98	5191	561	9190	tractor operator

Summary Case Report: 65 year old part-time farmer was using a tractor with front-end loader to load corn cobs into a truck. He was working alone on a slight slope. He apparently drove too far backwards and pinned himself against a branch of a pear tree, which pushed him against the steering wheel and caused head/chest injuries. The tractor had no ROPS, but if it did, it would have prevented this accident. Full Report with Photos

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
98IA06301	10/22/98	191	551	9190	farmer

Summary Case Report: 46 year old farmer was driving a narrow-front tractor equipped with a front-end loader which was holding up one end of a broken plow by a chain. Another tractor was in front lifting the plow with its 3-point hitch. The victim and a relative were driving out of a field onto a gravel road. When they turned the corner, the pull from the first tractor caused the other to rollover in the ditch, crushing the victim

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
98IA07701	6/22/98	212	551	9190	farmer

Summary Case Report: 40 year old farmer was using an older skid-steer loader (equipped with front forks) to pick up cut grass along a ditch-to feed to cattle. He was working alone when he apparently backed off into the ditch and overturned the machine on himself. He was partially thrown out of the machine and was crushed underneath. The skid-steer loader did not have a ROPS or seatbelt, and provided no protection from the liftarms, or in case of rollover.

FACE ID:	Date	SIC	SOC	E Code:	Occupation
99IA00501	1/18/99	1799	754	9190	owner of sand blasting Co.

Summary Case Report: 51 year old owner of a small sand blasting company was trying to move a trailer-mounted sand blaster pot containing three tons of sand. He was backing up his narrow-front tractor, pulling the pot up a slight hill with a chain attached to front bucket of tractor. Needing more pull, he hooked a truck to the drawbar of the tractor with a chain. His wife was driving the truck (at an angle) down a driveway. While they were pulling, the tractor was pulled over sideways, overturning on the man.