6.1: Definition

The key factor in making a determination between a Caught event and a Struck event is whether the impact of the object alone caused the injury. When the impact alone creates the injury, the event should be recorded as Struck. When the injury is created more as a result of crushing injuries between objects, the event should be recorded as Caught.

Events that should be classified as Caught include:

■ Cave-ins (trenching)

■ Being pulled into or caught in machinery and equipment (this includes strangulation as the

result of clothing caught in running machinery and equipment)

■ Being compressed or crushed between rolling, sliding, or shifting objects such as semi-trailers

and a dock wall, or between a truck frame and a hydraulic bed that is lowering

Examples

Caught- in or -between hazards in construction cause accidents such as the following:

■ A worker was ripping a 6-inch piece of wood on an unguarded compound miter saw. His left thumb was caught in the saw and amputated.

■ An employee was performing diagnostic work on a water truck at a construction site. The worker crawled under the operating truck. The employee’s work shirt collar and coveralls became caught on a projecting set screw on the rotating pump shaft. The set screw pulled him into the pump shaft. The employee died en route to the hospital.

■ A worker climbed onto an I-beam to clean muck off the tail pulley of a conveyor belt attached to a separator. While the conveyor system was energized and in operation, the employee reached between the feed and return of the belt in front of the tail pulley with his hand to brush the muck off the belt. He was caught by the moving belt, and his hand and arm were pulled into a pinch point in the tail pulley. The employee’s arm was fractured.

■ A worker was at the bottom of a 9.5-foot deep trench, setting grade for concrete pipe while the employer was installing additional shoring. During the shoring installation, the west wall at the south end of the excavation caved-in and covered the worker. There was no shoring or protective system at the location of the trench. The employee was dug out by coworkers and the fire department and survived.

■ An employee and a co-worker were working in a 9-foot deep excavation installing water pipes, when the south side of the excavation caved in on the employee and buried him. The employe was killed.

■ Two laborers were framing out footing for foundation walls in an excavation 100-foot long by 45-foot wide by 10-foot deep. The adjacent property along the north wall of the excavation consisted of seven garages, with a 10-foot high cinderblock wall. The cinderblock wall was undermined approximately 2 feet and was not supported. The wall collapsed, crushing the laborers. One was killed and the other was taken to the hospital for back and shoulder injuries.

■ A worker was operating a road grader when the engine died, and the vehicle began to roll toward a small ravine. The employee jumped off the grader but was pulled under the grader as it overturned. He was killed when he was crushed underneath the tires.

■ An employee was working from an aerial lift, which was in the “up” position, under an I-beam.

He accidentally came into contact with the “drive/steer” lever, which made the manlift move. The employee was killed when he was pinned between the I-beam and manlift control panel.

■ A worker was cleaning an asphalt paving spreader. Another worker was repairing a pavement roller. The roller was accidentally put into motion, and it rolled toward the spreader. The first employee was injured when he was pinned between the two machines.

■ An employee was placing dunnage underneath the sheet metal. A coworker was operating a powered industrial forklift loading sheet metal onto a flatbed truck. As the coworker was loading the sheet metal onto the flatbed truck, one of the bands holding the sheet metal together either broke or the clamp was not properly secured. The back band failed, and the load of sheet metal slid forward onto the employee, pinning him under the sheet metal and against a dumpster. The employee was hospitalized and treated for a fractured leg and a dislocated knee.

Statistics

In 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the total number of fatal work injuries involving caught-in or –between hazards remained about the same for all of private industry as in 2007. However, the number of such fatalities has increased by approximately 10% since 2003. In 2008, the private construction industry alone accounted for 92 of the caught-in or –between fatalities, or approximately 23% of the total.

The number of fatalities involving caught-in or – between hazards in the private construction industry has decreased by about 20% since 2003. The biggest decrease in caught-in or –between fatalities in the private construction industry has been in excavation or trenching cave-ins. There were 44 such fatalities in 2003 and only 16 in 2008.

Altogether, 975 private-industry construction workers died on the job in 2008, with 92 of them (9%) killed as a result of caught-in or –between hazards.

Occupational fatalities caused by caught in- or – between hazards are serious concerns. This lesson will help you identify these hazards at your worksite so that you can be protected.

Some of the working conditions that contribute to caught in- or –between hazards include: Machinery that has unguarded moving parts or that is not lockedout during maintenance; unprotected excavations and trenches; heavy equipment that tips over, collapsing walls during demolition; and working between moving materials and immovable structures, vehicles, or equipment.

Machinery that has unguarded moving parts

Almost all sites use machinery that has moving or rotating parts or that requires maintenance or repair at some point during construction. If machinery is not properly guarded or de-energized during maintenance or repair, injuries from caught-in or -between hazards may result, ranging from amputations and fractures to death. When machines or power tools are not properly guarded, workers can get their clothing or parts of their body caught in the machines. If machines are not de-energized (locked-out) when they are being repaired, they may cycle or otherwise start up and catch a worker’s body part or clothing and cause injury or death.

Workers can be trapped and crushed under heavy equipment that tips, especially if they are thrown from the equipment.

Example 1: A three-man crew was installing an underground telephone cable in a residential area. They had just completed a bore hole under a driveway using a horizontal boring machine. The bore hole rod had been removed from the hole. While the rod was still rotating, the operator straddled it and stooped over to pick it up. His trouser leg became entangled in the rotating rod and he was flipped over. He struck tools and materials, sustaining fatal injuries.

Example 2: A laborer was steaming a scraper. The bowl apron had been left in the raised position. The hydraulically controlled apron had not been blocked to prevent it from accidently falling. The apron did fall unexpectedly, and the employee was caught between the apron and the cutting edge of the scraper bowl. The apron weighed approximately 2500 pounds.

Example 3: An employee was driving a front-end loader up a dirt ramp onto a lowboy trailer. The tractor tread began to slide off the trailer. As the tractor began to tip, the operator, who was not wearing a seat belt, jumped from the cab. As he hit the ground, the tractor’s rollover protective structure fell on top of him, crushing him.