Teenager screams in agony as machine shreds his legs

Incident summary: A teenager who was left to work alone unsupervised suffered the amputation of both his legs when he was pulled into the rotating blades of a hazardous machine.

What happened: A 16-year-old accepted a job with a company in order to earn extra credits for high school. About nine months after he started, the teenager was told to operate a walk-behind mini skid steer equipped with a rotary trencher attachment.

His supervisor gave him a brief demonstration of the device, but nothing was said about the potential dangers of the equipment. Following the demonstration, the teenager used the machine for about three hours before his workday ended.

The next day, the teenager was again told to operate the equipment. The supervisor left the job site and no one was assigned to keep an eye on the young employee.

The teenager began running the device. About 30 minutes into the job, he walked in front of the trencher in order to check the depth of the trench.

As he stood in the trench, which was about 8 inches deep, the sidewall collapsed and his legs were pulled into the trencher’s roller chain. The teenager screamed in agony as his legs were shredded by the ruthless rotating blades. He used his cellphone to contact his supervisor, who arranged for someone to help him. The young man survived the incident, but he suffered the amputation of both his legs.

Findings: The victim’s boss shouldn’t have let an inexperienced teenager work by himself without supervision. In addition, the company ignored child labor laws, which forbid workers under the age of 18 from operating hazardous equipment.

(From the August 5, 2024, issue of Safety Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)