Construction Accident Resulting in Personal Injury
Bucket with Wain-Roy Swinger
Bucket Drop Test
Keeper and Klik Pin
A construction worker was seriously injured when a backhoe bucket disengaged from the boom’s Wain-Roy swing unit while traversing and dropped over ten feet onto a worker spreading stone below. Liebert Engineering, Inc., was retained to conduct an investigation and determine whether equipment, part, or system failure contributed to the accident.
The investigation consisted of a physical examination of the equipment and accident site, along with a review of related maintenance records, safety protocols, and operations & maintenance manuals. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with the operator, foreman, and safety director to understand all pertinent events before and after the accident.
The bucket detached from the Wain-Roy unit because the keeper used to connect the bucket to the swivel joint had accidently been left off when the bucket was changed the previous day.