ANDREW M. CUOMO

Governor

HOWARD A. ZUCKER, M.D., J.D.

Acting Commissioner

SALLY DRESLIN, M.S., R.N.

Executive Deputy Commissioner

FATALITY ASSESSMENT AND CONTROL EVALUATION 

 

Worker Crushed Unloading Steel Waste Container

Case Report 16NY066

CASE SUMMARY

On May 25, 2016, a 58-year-old shop supervisor (victim) at a waste management company was fatally 

crushed while unloading a 2-yard steel container that weighed 900 Lb. from the back of a truck using 

an attached hydraulic liftgate. At the time of the incident, the truck driver was inside the bed of the 

truck operating the liftgate while the victim stood on the ground below to hold the container from 

rolling off the liftgate during its descent. When the driver began to lower the liftgate, he felt the 

container start to move and yelled to warn the victim below. The victim attempted to hold the container 

in place and was unable to remove himself as it fell. He was crushed by the container. The driver 

moved the container off the victim and ran inside to alert co-workers to call 911. EMS arrived on scene 

and the victim was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS

• A forklift was not readily available to unload containers from the truck bed. 

• The liftgate on the back of the truck pitched downward at an angle of nine degrees when 

lowered out of its seated position. 

• The bed of the truck did not line up with the height of the loading dock of the wash bay and 

could not be used. 

• There was no program specific to liftgate safety that addressed written operating procedure, 

loading and unloading, and preventative maintenance. 

• There was no written procedure specific to the safe handling of containers. 

• This method of handling containers was a common practice routinely done by many employees 

when a forklift was not available. 

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

• Establish a written procedure on safe work practices to safely handle, load, and unload 

containers as well as provide a forklift or a truck that is compatible with the loading dock. 

• Ensure that containers are secured to the liftgate during loading and unloading. 

• Implement a liftgate preventative maintenance schedule according to manufacturer 

specifications. 

• Develop and implement a liftgate safety program that addresses safety hazards associated 

with operating the equipment, safe operating procedures, and specific prevention measures. 

• Train workers on safe operation of liftgate and handling waste containers according to 

company policy and manufacturer guidelines. 
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• Perform a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) to identify hazards and establish control measures. 

• Utilize additional liftgate safety features to reduce risk factors and make the equipment safer 

to operate. 

INTRODUCTION

On May 25, 2016, a 58-year-old shop supervisor (victim) at a waste management company was fatally 

crushed while unloading a 2-yard steel container that weighed 900 Lb. from the back of a truck with an 

attached hydraulic liftgate (Photo 1). The New York State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation 

(NY FACE) staff learned of the incident from the news media and contacted the employer to initiate an 

investigation. The company declined to participate in the NY FACE investigation. The Occupational 

Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the city police department investigated the case. The 

NY FACE investigator discussed the case with the OSHA compliance officer and reviewed the OSHA 

and police reports and the death certificate. This report was developed based on the information 

provided by OSHA and the city police department. 

The company had been in the business of waste management for approximately 20 years and had 100 

employees at the time of the incident. It specialized in waste collection and removal for residential, 

commercial, and construction clients. This was the first fatal injury in the company’s history. The 

victim had been employed by this company for approximately 15 years and was a shop supervisor. The 

employees at this company, including the victim, are union members. The company has a written 

Health and Safety program. 

For the contract that the victim was working on at the time of the incident, full containers would be 

picked up by drivers and brought back to the main facility where they would be emptied and washed. 

Once the container had been emptied, it would be transported to the wash bay to be power washed. 

This process was performed 2-3 times per week for this client. There was no written standard 

procedure for loading and unloading the waste containers. At the time of the incident, the empty 

container was being unloaded at the wash bay. 
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Photo 1. The truck with hydraulic liftgate being used to load and unload containers and the container after 

falling from the liftgate. (Photo courtesy of OSHA)

INVESTIGATION

A forklift, if one was available, would be used to remove the container from the bed of the truck. 

However, in most cases the container was unloaded manually by 2-3 employees. At the time of the 

incident, the company had three forklifts on site. One forklift was located on the opposite side of the 

facility, one was out of service, and one was being used for another activity.

The container in this incident was a two-yard metal compacting container that rested on a set of four 

caster wheels. Empty, this container weighs approximately 860 pounds plus ten pounds for each caster 

resulting in a total of 900 pounds. The dimensions of the container measure 50.5 inches high on its 

castings, 76.25 inches wide, and 36 inches deep. The manufacturer warned of tipping and crushing 

hazards associated with this container (Photo 3). 

On the day of the incident, the driver was bringing the empty container to the wash bay in the back of a 

Ford 550 dump truck that was equipped with a Tommy Gate hydraulic liftgate attached to the rear of 

the vehicle (Photo 1). The weight capacity of the liftgate was not available for the investigation, but it 

is not believed to be a factor in the incident. The width of the liftgate allowed for 12 inches of space on 

either side of the container if centered. The liftgate was 28 inches deep to the beginning of the bevel 

which was an additional six inches. The center point of the casters on the container came to the edge of 

Hydraulic liftgate in 

its seated position.

Two-yard steel 

compaction waste 

container.
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the bevel leaving no room for any front to back movement during descent. The liftgate on the truck 

was known to pitch downward as it lowered from its seated position. During the investigation, the 

pitch of the liftgate was measured at an angle of 9.5 degrees when lowered (Photo 2). With the casters 

resting on the edge of the bevel and the downward pitch of the liftgate, the container was at risk of 

rolling off the liftgate during unloading. In its seated position, the liftgate was measured at a height of 

47.5 inches. The wash bay did have a loading dock that could be used to unload containers. However, 

the bed of the truck was not high enough to line up with the loading dock. Employees would either use 

a forklift or manually unload the container. 

Photo 2. The hydraulic liftgate in a lowered position. A level showing the downward pitch of the liftgate. The 

downward pitch was measured at an angle of 9.5 degrees. (Photo courtesy of OSHA) 

Since a forklift was not available, the driver proceeded to have the victim to assist him in unloading the 

container manually. The driver rolled the container and positioned it on the liftgate. From inside the 

bed of the truck, the driver used one hand to hold the container while using his other hand to operate 

the toggle switch on the side of the truck that controlled the liftgate. Meanwhile the victim positioned 

himself on the ground directly below the container to steady it during descent. The driver felt the 

container begin to move and shouted to alert the victim below to get out of the way. Surveillance video 

shows that the victim attempted to stop the container from rolling off the liftgate as it fell and crushed 

the victim. The container fell from a height of approximately 42 inches. The driver moved the 

container off the victim and ran inside to alert coworkers and call 911. EMS arrived on site and the 

victim was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead as a result of his injuries. 

The employer had a safety program with documented components and procedures; however, there was 

no written procedure for this task. The liftgate on the back of the truck was known to pitch downward 

when lowered which reinforced the employees’ method of standing below the container to hold it in 

place. There was no evaluation of this procedure for hazards, or control measures in place, at the time 

of the incident. 
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Photo 3. The two-yard steel compactor container and warning labels depicting crushing hazard. (Photo 

courtesy of OSHA) 

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation #1: Employers should establish a written procedure that specifies safe work 

practices to safely handle, load, and unload containers. Employers should provide a forklift or a 

truck that is compatible with the loading dock to safely load and unload containers that are too large 

and heavy to be handled by a truck liftgate. 

Discussion: Employers are required to provide a workplace that is free from recognized hazards. 

Manually unloading and standing below an unsecured container presented an imminent and serious 

hazard. Employers should provide a written procedure that establishes specific safe work practices for 

handling containers. A written procedure sets forth expectations for employees and provides a 

framework to guide decision making. Employees should be held accountable to these safe work 

procedures to ensure a safe working environment free from hazards. 

There were three forklifts located at this facility; however, none was available for this task at the time.

A forklift should be designated to this task and incorporated into the written procedure. Another option 

is to use a truck that can be used with the loading dock of the wash bay to better facilitate loading and 

unloading containers. This should also be incorporated into the written procedure. 

The liftgate was frequently used at this facility for container handling. It is important to know the 

capacity of the liftgate as well as the size of the loading platform. Employers should develop and 
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implement a liftgate safety program (see Recommendation #2). Written safety procedures and policies 

should be updated to reflect the changes in the workplaces and regularly reviewed and evaluated for 

their effectiveness.

Recommendations #2: Employers should develop and implement a liftgate safety program that 

addresses safety hazards associated with operating the equipment, safe operating procedures, and 

specific prevention measures.

Discussion: Liftgates are widely used for loading and unloading cargos from delivery vehicles and 

improper use can result in serious worker injuries and death. Employers should develop and implement 

a liftgate safety program that identifies safety hazards associated with operating the equipment and 

address specific prevention measures. The program should address the issues of load capacity and 

placement, safe loading/unloading procedure, daily liftgate inspection, and repair and preventative 

maintenance.

Recommendation #3: Employers should ensure that containers are secured to the liftgate during 

loading and unloading so that they would not fall off the platform and cause worker injury.

Discussion: The 900 Lb. waste container with casters was neither strapped nor chocked in this case. 

Employers should ensure that large, heavy, and unstable containers are restrained and strapped 

securely to the liftgate. Wheeled containers such as the one in this case should be both strapped and 

chocked to prevent them from tipping and rolling of the liftgate platform causing worker injury and 

death. 

Recommendation #4: Employers should implement a regular liftgate preventative maintenance 

schedule according to manufacturer specifications.

Discussion: According to the owner’s manual, the liftgate needed to be serviced every 60 days. A 

preventative maintenance program must be followed in order to keep the liftgate in its best and safe 

operating condition. If there are any noticeable problems with the liftgate, such as a platform pitching 

downward, it should be taken out of service and repaired immediately.

Recommendation #5: Employers should train workers on safe operation of liftgate and handling 

waste containers according to company policy and manufacturer guidelines.

Discussion: Employees should be trained on how to handle waste containers safely by strictly 

following company’s written standard operating procedures. Workers should learn not to attempt to 

manually handle a container that is beyond their ability to control. They should always use a forklift 

for the containers that are too large and heavy to be handled by the liftgate. Do not operate the liftgate 

unless the unstable container is strapped and chocked. Workers should be directed to stand away from 

the container falling zone. They should never try to stop a container from falling.
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Recommendation #6: Employers should conduct Job Hazard Analysis (JHA’s) for jobs that carry 

high potential risk for serious injury to identify hazards, establish control measures, and develop 

safe work procedures. 

Discussion: A Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) is an important tool that can be used to identify hazards and 

implement prevention measures. Jobs that pose the potential risk for severe injuries should be 

evaluated with a Job Hazard Analysis. This breaks down the job into specific steps and identifies the 

hazard associated with each step. Prevention measures should be considered according the hierarchy of 

controls and be included in any written policy or procedure for that job. From most effective to least 

effective, the hierarchy of controls for managing occupational hazards begins with elimination of the 

hazard, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and lastly personal protective 

equipment. 

Recommendation #7: Employers should consider installing additional liftgate safety features to 

reduce risk factors and make the equipment safer to operate. 

Discussion: Manufacturers have developed features and mechanisms that make a liftgate safer to 

operate. A remote control allows a worker to operate the liftgate outside the cargo falling zone. Selfleveling liftgates can keep the platform level and liftgate cart-stops can prevent cargo from rolling off 

the platform. Employers should consider installing and utilizing these liftgate safety features to 

enhance the equipment safety so that workers can be better protected. 

Keywords: waste management, compacting container, liftgate, loading, unloading, material 

handling, struck-by, crushing

REFERENCES

1. New York State Fatality Assessment Control and Evaluation Program. “Truck Driver Buried 

by Mulch at Town Solid Waste Site “(Case Report: 06NY084). Retrieved July 25, 2017 from 

https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/investigations/face/06ny084.htm

2. Washington State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program. “Hazards to Truck 

Drivers Loading and Unloading” (Report Number 47-8-2005).Retrieved July 25, 2017 from 

http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/Research/FACE/files/LoadUnload.pdf

3. Washington State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program. “Hazards to Truck 

Drivers and other Workers while Loading and Unloading Trucks and Trailers” (Report Number 

47-20-2011). Retrieved July 25, 2017 from 

http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/Research/FACE/Files/47202011FaceFatalFacts.pdf
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The New York State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (NY FACE) program is funded by the 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and administered by the New York State Department of 

Health. NY FACE is a research program designed to study the causes of workplace fatalities and develop 

practical and effective prevention measures. NY FACE investigators evaluate information from multiple 

sources and provide recommendations for prevention in summary reports. These recommendations are 

distributed to employers, workers, and other organizations interested in promoting workplace safety. The NY 

FACE does not determine fault or legal liability associated with a fatal incident. Names of employers, victims 

and/or witnesses are not included in written investigative reports or other databases to protect the 

confidentiality of those who voluntarily participate in the program. Additional information regarding the NY 

FACE program can be obtained from:

New York State Department of Health FACE Program

Bureau of Occupational Health and Injury Prevention

Corning Tower, Room 1325

Empire State Plaza

Albany, NY 12237

866-807-2130

518-402-7900

BOH@health.state.ny.us

https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/investigations/face/