Cal/OSHA on Monday issued citations totaling $90,935 to C.C. Myers, Inc. and $7,200 to Terry Equipment, Inc. following an accident in which an employee of C.C. Myers was pulled into an unguarded concrete placer machine. The 35-year-old man was cleaning the hopper of the machine owned by Terry Equipment, and sustained traumatic injuries to his right leg that resulted in subsequent complete amputation to the hip bone.

The accident occurred around 6:30 p.m. on November 13, 2014, on the eastbound median of Highway 4 in Antioch. As part of the paving process to expand a segment of the highway, employees of C.C. Myers lined up trucks full of concrete to dump into the concrete placer machine. The victim was assigned to help a co-worker perform cleaning and maintenance of the hopper; neither worker had been provided safety training to do so. While standing on top of the hopper chipping away at the concrete inside, the victim slipped and his leg was pulled into a rotating steel auger located inside the hopper. The emergency switch was not shut off in time, and he was transported to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek where he spent 12 days in recovery.

Cal/OSHA’s investigation found that both C.C. Myers of Rancho Cordova and Terry Equipment of Bloomington, the company that leased the concrete placer, failed to implement adequate safety measures. C.C. Myers was issued eight citations in total, including four serious and three serious accident-related citations for failure to place a guard on the auger as well as lack of safety procedures such as lockout/tagout and related employee training. Terry Equipment Inc, was issued one serious citation for neglecting to place a guard on the machine which, as owner, the company had the ability and authority to do.

Lockout/tagout is a procedure that employers are required to have in place for energy-powered machines that could injure workers while being serviced. Cleaning operations require that machinery capable of movement be stopped and power sources fully disengaged. If necessary, the moveable parts must be mechanically blocked or locked to prevent inadvertent movement or release of stored energy. Visit the DIR website to learn more about lockout/tagout procedures and to use the employer eTool.

Cal/OSHA issues citations for serious workplace safety violations when there is a realistic possibility that conditions could result in death or serious physical harm, and willful violations where evidence shows that the employer committed an intentional and knowing violation.