Concrete Form Pin Connection Failure

Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report

Product involved: Concrete Forms/Pin Connection
What happened: A worker was injured while attempting to disassemble steel forms for concrete.  A pin that supported the forms failed resulting in the form dropping onto the worker’s head.
Injuries: Head injuries
Recommendations: Positioning of connections can be important for these types of structures.  It is important for the connections to be accessed safely, without getting underneath the forms in a crush zone.  Positioning connections so that the forms can be broken from the side would prevent these types of accidents

OSHA/Standard violations?: unknown

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Hydraulic Fitting Failure Causes Dump Truck Bed to Fall

Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report

Product involved: Dump Truck
What happened: A maintenance worker was killed when the raised bed of a dump truck fell onto him due to the failure of a hydraulic fitting which allowed the hydraulic pressure to drop rapidly
Injuries: Death
Recommendations: A check valve on the hydraulic system would have prevented loss of pressure due to the fitting failure.  Also additional means of supporting the weight of the truck bed would have prevented the bed from falling when the hydraulic fitting failed.

OSHA/Standard violations?: unknown

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Wood Chipper Accident

Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report

Product involved: Wood Chipper
What happened: A worker became pulled into a wood chipper when the bundle of branches he was feeding into the chipper trapped his hand
Injuries: Amputation
Recommendations: Wood chippers are extremely powerful machines that have an entanglement hazard between the powered rollers that pull material into the chipper.  These machines should be guarded with as much care and attention to detail as large printing presses.  The operator should never be able to reach the point of operation of the chipper.  Equipping the chipper with an effective body bar that stopped the machine would have prevented this accident, as would have a deadman platform that the operator would work from that would stop the chipper when it sensed the lack of a person.

OSHA/Standard violations?: no

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Crushing of Forklift Operator

Mechanical and Safety Engineering (MASE) Product Failure Injury Report

Product involved: Forklift

What happened: A forklift operator became crushed between the mast and parts of the forklift structure when he reached through the mast to clear an obstruction and accidentally lowered the lift onto himself

Injuries: Death due to crushing injuries of head

Recommendations: Simple guarding of the operator compartment would have prevented the operator from being able to place himself in the path of the descending lift.

OSHA/Standard violations?: no

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Hand Held Mixer Accident

MASE Product Failure Injury Report

Product involved: Hand Held Mixer

What happened: A woman's finger became caught in a hand held electric blender while she was holding the edge of the bowl.

Injuries: Tendon damage to finger

Recommendations: Hand held mixers are relatively low power, but can still maim and injure fingers.  Since hand held mixers have an unguarded nip point, distance from the hazard is essential.  Deep, heavy bowls that do not require hand stabilization will help deter users from getting near the hazard.  Counter top stand mixers do not require stabilization, and use deep bowls to increase the distance to the hazard. 

OSHA/Standard violations?: no

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Mountain Bike Tire Failure

MASE Product Failure Injury Report

Product involved: MTB Mountain Bike Tire

What happened: Person was mountain biking on a trail, crossed part of the path where a previous small bridge had been removed.  A couple of miles later, the bike slid out to the right from underneath the rider in a hard left curve, at a relatively low speed.  Inspection after the accident showed a nail in one of the tires, presumably from the bridge site.  The loss of air pressure caused the accident.

Injuries: Lacerations, bruises

Recommendations:  Even if tires are at the proper pressure at the beginning of the ride, there is no guarantee that this will be maintained.  Punctures during a ride may result in a slow, unnoticeable loss of pressure.  There are inner tubes for bikes that will automatically seal any puncture.  There are also tubeless wheels that use thicker tires, which are reportedly more puncture resistant.

OSHA/Standard violations?: no

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Werner Ladder Accident

MASE Product Failure Injury Report

Product involved: Aluminum Ladder

What happened: At a rock climbing gym, a person was using an aluminum stepladder to change routes on the wall.  The worker changed some holds, and proceeded to work on holds that were located to his right, approximately two to three feet away.  He had to lean far to the right to access these holds.  At some point his center of gravity passed outside of the stability triangle of the ladder, and the ladder leaned to the left due to this as well as the padded floor surface, causing him to begin to fall.  As he fell, his weight, motion, and reaction caused the ladder to tip to the left.  He fell on top of the ladder, causing some deformation.

Injuries: none due to padded floor

Recommendations: Try to stay as close to the ladder's center as possible, preferably within the ladder rails per manufacturer recommendations.  A firm surface will also help prevent the ladder from tipping. 

OSHA/Standard violations?: no

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