Inspection Detail

Inspection: 125652941 - Island Water Park

Inspection Information - Office: Fresno District Office

Investigation Summary

On February 22, 1999, Employee #1 suffered a concussion with head and neck injuries when a load fell off a fork lift. She was working with another employee assembling water slide components. One section had been attached to a spreader bar when the employees left for about 30 minutes to get some tools. When they returned, the other employee got into the fork lift to lower the bar, at the same time Employee #1 was walking under the bar. The load slipped off the forks and hit Employee #1 in the head and shoulder area. She had a concussion with severe head and spine injuries. At the time of this report, she was expected to make a full recovery with no permanent paralysis. However, she has experienced some lack of ability to use her legs. The primary cause of the injury was the lack of securing the load to the fork lift forks. It was typical to secure the bar by fully tilting the forks in the upright position creating a "V" with the forks. In this case, when the workers left for 30 minutes with the load elevated, they turned off the fork lift possibly bleeding the hydraulic system so that as soon as the driver got into the fork lift and released the parking break, the load fell because the forks were no longer in that "V" position. Employee #1 was transported to University Medical Center for treatments for her neck and head.

Keywords: HEAD, SPINE, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, NECK, CONCUSSION