UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At approximately 7:00 a.m. on October 17, 2012, an employee, a laborer, was retr ieving lumber stored on the top rack above a freightliner cab which had two ratc het straps, one in front of the cab and one behind the cab. The straps securing the lumber was at a height greater than 9.5 feet above pavement on the left side of the truck. The stock rack had a fixed, 6 feet high ladder positioned behind the cab, on the left side of the flatbed surface which was used to access the ra tchets and lumber above the cab. A coworker walked to the rolling stock truck fo r materials and found the employee lying on his back on the pavement along the l eft side of the truck in a position with his arms and legs spread out. While on his back, the employee's left hand was less than five feet from the side of the truck and within 1 foot of being directly below the ratchet behind the cab. The employee's eyes were open and he was attempting to stand up. The coworker calle d the foreman who instructed the employee to remain still. The employee was assi sted by coworkers to the back of the truck and then to a stack of pallets where the employee was able to sit without assistance for approximately 30 minutes whe n the site manager arrived. The employee vomited and a coworker called 911. Emer gency personnel found the employee alert with no visible injury, no signs of ble eding, and able to understand questions. The employee, with the assistance of an interpreter, informed the coworkers that he had fallen backwards off of the tru ck's ladder from a height of 9.5 feet and landed on the ground surface. Emergenc y personnel transported the employee to a hospital. On October 21, 2012, the emp loyee died from a diffuse cerebral edema due to traumatic subdural and subarachn oid hemorrhage.