Front End Loader Tears Roof Off of a Car, Injuring Plaintiff's Head

Case Overview

This case involves an injury to the plaintiff and harm done to the roofing of the plaintiff’s car. The plaintiff, a middle-aged man, was a passenger in a car traveling on a two-way rural road, which was not designated as a construction road. A slow-moving front loader construction vehicle made a turn into the plaintiff, whereby the bucket of the front-end loader was high enough to tear the roof off the car and strike the plaintiff in the head, which gave him a serious head injury.

Questions to the Construction Safety expert and their responses

Are you familiar with these types of safety issues?

I am currently a safety science faculty member at a university, with my own safety consulting business, and I am very familiar with the safety procedures that most construction vehicles must abide by.

Are you familiar with a front loader construction vehicle?

I had hands-on experience, operating a front end loader for eight years.

Should a bucket be carrying that high when making a turn?

Based on the facts provided, it appears that he was traveling with his bucket too high, which would be an operating error.

Can you determine whether this was operator error or a design issue?

Based on the facts provided, it appears that he was traveling with his bucket too high, which would be an operating error.

About the expert

This highly qualified and certified expert has nearly 30 years of experience in OSHA certification and regulation review. In the past, this expert worked as the safety director and plant operator of the Electric Power Research Institute where he needed to become intimately familiar with OSHA regulations. He moved on to several similar roles for several other firms until becoming a full time OSHA safety instructor at a major university.