Abstract: Employee #1 and a coworker were loading sections of wood fencing onto a flatbed truck. Employee #1 indicated which fence was to be loaded and his coworker operated a forklift. The forks were inserted between the slats of the bottom section of fence. The 14 sections of fence were twice as long as the length of the forks, and as the forks were raised to move the load, the fence teetered. Employee #1 observed this and said he would climb up on the load to balance it. The load was then moved from the storage area down a slight incline and over to the flatbed truck while Employee #1 was sitting on top of the load. As the load was raised to approximately 4 feet, the bottom section of fence broke apart. The rest of the load tipped forward, slid off the forks, and remained standing on edge, leaning against the forks. Employee #1 fell or slid off the load, stumbled backwards, fell, and hit the back of his head on the pavement. He was treated by emergency medical personnel, transported to a hospital, and died several days later from the head injury.