Accident Report: Fatality Reference
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COAL MINE FATALITY - On Tuesday, February 17, 2009, a 27-year old tractor-trailer driver was fatally injured when he was struck by falling lumber. The victim was an over the road truck driver who was delivering a load of lumber to the mine on a flat bed tractor-trailer. A mine employee was using a forklift to unload the lumber from the trailer. The operator of the forklift attempted to remove two bundles of lumber from the driver's side of the trailer. When he raised the forks, two bundles of lumber fell off the trailer on the passenger's side and struck the victim.
Best Practices
- Conduct a Risk Assessment before beginning any task; evaluate the work procedures, identify all possible hazards, and take steps to perform the task safely.
- Establish safe work procedures and ensure all personnel involved communicate clearly with each other.
- Never work in a location where co-workers cannot see you during loading or unloading of materials.
- Ensure that workers are not positioned near hazards from falling loads.
Additional Information
This is the second fatality reported in calendar year 2009 in the coal mining industry. As of this date in 2008, there were three fatalities reported in the coal mining industry. This is the first Handling Material fatality in 2009. At this time in 2008, there were no fatalities in this classification.