Blog Post #513 – Worker in Nova Scotia Involved in a Skid Steer Accident Survives

Excerpt from the OH&S Canada magazine

A Nova Scotia business owner was released from hospital following a January 4, 2011 incident in which he was under a skid steer after its supports gave way.

The owner of Art’s Overhead Door Service in Berwick, Nova Scotia was working on a skid steer that had been raised up on jack stands and ramps. When the supports collapsed, the owner sustained a broken finger and a bruised face, says the labour department’s Kevin Finch.

Steve McMahon, deputy fire chief of the Berwick & District Fire Department, reports that the owner had backed up the skid steer onto ramps, lifted its front end with a bucket and placed jack stands under the raised vehicle during the holiday season a couple of weeks earlier.

On January 4, the owner decided to change some of the skid steer’s hydraulic hoses. He crawled underneath the vehicle and began loosening a hose, McMahon says. “The effort of pulling on the wrench appears to have rolled it off the jacks,” he says.

The owner called for his wife, but then lost consciousness because of the pressure exerted on his chest, says McMahon. A friend who worked at a transmission shop in the same industrial mall grabbed a hydraulic floor jack “and immediately started lifting the pressure off him,” McMahon reports. “The outcome would have been different if he didn’t get that pressure off him.”

When firefighters arrived on scene about six minutes after the 9-1-1 call, the friend had already managed to raise the vehicle. Four firefighters then helped lift the owner from beneath the vehicle.

My opinion

There is an old saying, “You cannot fix stupid.” This skid steer accident was just waiting to happen. Did this idiot really think about what he was doing? Obviously not! I bet the readership he has never even reviewed the manual. There is a sure bet that the manufacturer would have placed safety information about the safe application of their products.

I am angry about stupid people. Many an argument from students are about legislation really being about ‘common sense’! This is one of those times that common sense was ‘NOT SO COMMON’.

God, what an idiot! Picture working for the guy! No wonder we have to enact legislation to combat stupidity!

Remember – In Canada, “ALL Accidents are Preventable”

HRS Group Inc. has a great team that can help you with all your health and safety needs including ‘Due Diligence’ and ‘Standard Operating Procedures’. Contact Deborah toll free at 1-877-907-7744 or locally at 705-749-1259.

We can also be reached at 

‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.

Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Advanced Level
VP & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.