Inspection Detail

Inspection: 125945725 - St George Warehouse

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At about 2:20 p.m. on October 4, 2005, Employee #1 had been working in his employer's warehouse, which stocked household items, for four months. The items were stored on large, stable, steel racks. Even though Employee #1 was not a regular employee of the employer, he had begun training as a forklift operator a month before the accident. On the day of the accident, Employee #1 was operating a 2,000 lb. capacity Raymond Model Number EASIDR25TT forklift, with Serial Number EZ-A-00-17716. At the time of the accident, Employee #1 was proceeding north along the 102-in. wide main aisle into the intersection of two aisles. As he made a right turn at the intersection, he swung wide to avoid a golf cart, being driven by his supervisor, approaching from the right. Employee #1 did not have complete control of the forklift as he made this wide radius turn, and his truck hit the steel storage rack at its corner. Further, Employee #1's left foot was outside the truck, and it was trapped between the truck and the steel rack. Employee #1 sustained multiple fractures to his left foot. He was hospitalized at the Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance, CA, for four days. Causal factors were that the forklift was not being operated at a safe speed, the truck was not under positive control at all times, and all established traffic regulations were not observed. Further, the employer did not ensure that Employee #1 had demonstrated, by successful completion of training and evaluation in accordance with regulations, that he was competent to operate a powered industrial truck.

Keywords: FRACTURE, WAREHOUSE, STRUCK AGAINST, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, INEXPERIENCE, STORAGE RACK, FOOT