Inspection Detail

Inspection: 103431516 - Paulina Contractors, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Baton Rouge Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 7:55 a.m. on January 8, 1996, Employee #1, a truck driver, had received a load of coke in a large semi-trailer truck at Caline Industrial, Inc., in Gramercy, LA. He pulled his truck up so that the front end loader would have room to load from the truck. Although there were no eyewitnesses, it is believed that Employee #1 got on top of his idling truck, without setting the air brakes, to replace the tarp over the trailer box. The truck started to roll forward, and in attempting to reach the truck cab, Employee #1 slipped and fell to the ground. He was struck by a large dual tandem wheel on the driver's side of the truck at the front of the trailer. The truck rolled forward approximately 16 ft and then back 8 ft. Employee #1 was killed, suffering multiple fractures. The area where the accident occurred is a coke storage yard with uneven surfaces caused by the operation of heavy equipment and trucks in the area. The layout of the land and the presence of a short bridge over a gully or ditch in the area may have contributed to the unexpected movement of the truck. Employee #1 had worked for Paulina Contractor, Inc., since 1992. The truck had a working back-up alarm. After the accident the air brakes were found to be not engaged.

Keywords: FRACTURE, BRAKE, WORK RULES, SLIP, TRUCK, FALL, STRUCK BY, TRUCK DRIVER