Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119820884 - Pacific Packaging Machinery Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on April 8, 2002, Employee #1 was discovered by Witness #1, the daughter of the employer. The employer was moving the company, Pacific Packaging Machinery Inc, from 1560 Industrial Park Street in Convina, California to 1284 Puerta Del Sol in San Clemte, California. The company had relocated and Employee #1 was working alone cleaning up the area using a powered industrial truck, to place items in a large trash dumpster. The forklift was a Clark Propane Powered Fork Lift, Model Number CGC20, Serial Number C3652-0049-9464FB, and the dumpster was 24-ft long, 93-in. wide, and 85-in. high with a rear door that extended across the entire width and height of it. Employee #1 was found in a vertical position on the right side of the forklift with his feet on the floor of the lift and head and upper chest above the overhead protection guard. The forklift mast was tilted back and Employee #1 was pinned between the mast and the overhead protector. Employee #1 had used a chain to lower a large wooden box into the dumpster. It appears that Employee #1 stood on the control panel of the forklift to remove the hook from a "C" clam that was attached to the right fork when his feet slipped and his left hip activated the forklift. This would have caused the mast to tilt back crushing Employee #1's chest between the mast and the overhead protector. Employee #1 had not been trained to safely operate a forklift by the employer. Witness #2, who delivered the forklift, went over the controls with Employee #1 and observed him performing basic operations. The operation manual for the forklift was found on the forklift unopened. Employee #1 was killed.

Keywords: CHEST, BOOM, WORK RULES, DUMPSTER, CRUSHED, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK