Handle Tools for Your Safety Fatality File

Supervisor Loses Control of Angle Grinder and Sustains Cuts

Employee #1, a foreman/supervisor employed by Bay Works Tile & Stone, Inc., was working at a building, performing the task he had been assigned, which was to use an angle grinder (a hand-held power tool) to cut wood. The employee lost control of the tool and was struck by its spinning disc, resulting in serious multiple cuts. A call was placed for emergency services, and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) responded and transported Employee #1 to the hospital. He was admitted and treated for a near amputation of his right index finger, a laceration to his middle right finger, and a laceration to his lower right leg. CAL FIRE reported this incident by telephone call to Cal/OSHA at approximately 1:39 p.m. on August 16, 2013. The employer failed to notify Cal/OSHA’s Oakland District Office within 8 hours after the event or within 24 hours of exigent circumstances. Cal/OSHA investigated. The documentation gathered and developed during the investigation included the CAL FIRE Accident Report and various Cal/OSHA forms, including the Doctor’s First Report of Occupational Injury or Illness. Based upon the evidence gathered during the investigation, Cal/OSHA determined that the angle grinder Employee #1 was using was not restricted to the use for which it was intended. The inappropriate operation of the angle grinder resulted in serious injury to the employee.