Coroner's Finding: Cuthbertson, Kevin Ross
Deceased
Kevin Ross Cuthbertson
Demographics
79y, male
Date of death
2017-07-03
Finding date
2018-05-15
Cause of death
Traumatic asphyxia due to a heavy weight on his chest
AI-generated summary
A 79-year-old man died from traumatic asphyxia when a campervan rolled backward onto his chest while he performed maintenance work underneath. He had elevated the rear of the vehicle using wooden chocks and engaged the park brake, but then disconnected the tailshaft to access the differential. Critically, the park brake system relied on a continuous connection through the tailshaft to the transmission-mounted brake. Once the tailshaft was disconnected, the park brake became ineffective, allowing the vehicle to roll backward off the chocks. The coroner found this was an entirely preventable death resulting from inadequate understanding of the vehicle's mechanical systems and failure to implement appropriate safety measures before working underneath the elevated vehicle.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Inadequate understanding of vehicle mechanical systems
- Failure to appreciate that disconnecting the tailshaft would disable the park brake
- Insufficient safety measures for working under elevated vehicle
- Lack of proper vehicle support during maintenance work
Full text
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