Washington FACE Report Details Boom Lift Fatality at Orchard

A 44-year-old orchard laborer died after falling approximately 40 feet when a self-propelled boom lift toppled down a steep embankment. The Washington State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program issued case report 71-279-2026 on July 10, 2026.

Incident Sequence

The laborer had worked 10 years as a general laborer for a family-owned fruit grower and packer. On the day of the incident, he and a helper positioned the lift near a 20-foot wood post on the edge of an unpaved, uneven track road that abutted a steep embankment. The laborer operated the controls from the boom bucket while the helper remained on the ground.

The helper observed that the laborer was not wearing the fall protection harness or hard hat. As the boom began to rise, the rear left wheel lifted off the ground and the machine toppled. The laborer fell between the bucket height and the embankment decline. The helper called the supervisor and 911; CPR was performed until paramedics arrived, but the laborer could not be revived.

Inspection Findings

Inspectors determined that workers did not follow the manufacturer’s label on the bucket, which warned against driving the lift near drop-offs or raising the boom on slopes. The laborer also did not follow employer-provided training that required use of the available personal protective equipment, including the fall protection harness and hard hat, according to Safety+Health Magazine.

Prevention Recommendations

The report states that employers should develop hazard reporting policies requiring workers to immediately stop unsafe boom lift operations and contact supervisors when co-workers ignore hazard controls or PPE requirements. Supervisors and equipment operators should jointly perform a job hazard analysis before initial use of the equipment. JHAs must be documented, reviewed, updated routinely, and accessible to workers.

Employers should also implement pre-job planning that includes site-hazard walk-arounds, selection of controls, and PPE inspection, according to Safety+Health Magazine. The full report is available for download from the issuing agency.