Other General Government Support

NarrativeOn December 27, 2017, Employee #1 was loading salt into a hopper and on a conveyor that carried the salt into a storage dome. Employee #1's safety vest was caught in the rotating coupling of a PTO shaft and had his body pulled into the shaft. Employee #2 attempted to grab Employee #1's body and suffered a broken left arm when he was struck by Employee #1's body as it spun in the shaft. Employee #1 was killed from his injuries.

NarrativeAt 5:00 pm. on October 17, 2017, Employee #1 was working for a municipal government. He and two coworkers were setting a 1.8-meter by 1.8-meter (6-foot by 6-foot) aluminum trench shield. They were using a Case 580 Super M Series II loader/backhoe, to which was attached a four-leg lifting bridle. One coworker was the loader/backhoe operator, and another coworker was spotting for the loader/backhoe operator. Employee #1 was observing the operation. As the loader/backhoe lifted and moved the trench shield over a spoil pile, the bucket of the backhoe came into contact with an overhead telephone cable. The two coworkers watched to ensure that the bucket did not snag the cable as the shield was moved. At this time, the back right edge of the shield contacted a spoil pile. At the moment of contact, Employee #1 moved next to the loader/backhoe's right stabilizer. The rigging was lifted out of the open hook, and the trench shield fell toward the loader/backhoe. It struck Employee #1 and pinned him to the ground. The left side of his rib cage was crushed. He sustained fractured ribs, a fractured sternum, and a perforated aorta. He was killed.

NarrativeAt 5:00 p.m. on August 17, 2017, a life guard employee was assigned to Tower 2. One of three lifeguard stations on a 0.7 mile stretch of beach from Oak Ave on the south end to the inlet to Buena Vista Lagoon to the north, and west of Ocean Street. The employees have a tall mound of sand that they use as a temporary "tower" at Towers 2 and 3, from which to scan the beach and ocean to provide rescue services to the public. The employees are provided a large canopy structure for shade, and beach chairs. At Tower 1, located in front of the Army Navy Academy, there is an actual wooden tower enclosed structure used by the city lifeguards with a storage locker below. Lifeguards are assigned to their "tower" for the day, and are relieved periodically throughout the day by a roving team on either ATV's or in the lifeguard truck. At the time of the accident, the employee had been relieved by lifeguard coworker and was engaged in physical training. Lifeguards are expected to engage in physical training during their paid breaks, which can include activities at the employee's discretion such as running on the beach, swimming in the ocean, paddling a paddle board, and board surfing or body surfing. The employee was seriously injured when he struck his neck and shoulder against the sandbar where he was body surfing, and was rendered unconscious and was seen by a nearby boogie-boarder, who saw him floating face down. The witness waved down help when he realized the employee was unconscious, and two coworkers responded to the scene to perform rescue procedures and to stabilize the employee for transport. The employee regained consciousness but communicated that he was paralyzed. He suffered a spinal cord injury and vertebrae fractures to C4, C5 and C6. He had bruising on the spinal cord at C2. He was hospitalized at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, for about 2 weeks, where he had surgeries to install plates, pins, and spacers and stabilizers. He was transferred to a spinal cord rehabilitation hospital in Colorado for further treatment.