Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126073576 - Ralphs Grocery Co

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 3:15 p.m. on July 18, 2000, Employee #1, a yard helper with Ralph's Grocery Company, was driving a pallet truck in the bay area of the unloading dock. He had just finished cleaning the yard of the unloading area and stopped his vehicle to unload the trash bucket before going to lunch. He was heading toward the east side of the bays to park when he encountered two trailer trucks that were backing into bays at the unloading dock. Employee #1 stopped to wait for the two trucks to finish parking. While the first trailer truck was backing into bay #216, he saw that the second trailer truck was starting to move into bay #218. Thinking there was a reasonable distance between him and this second truck, he decided to cross behind the second trailer truck. As Employee #1 was moving, Unexpectedly, the ICC bar on the passenger side of the trailer truck struck his pallet jack and knocked him off. When Employee #1 tried to stand up and balance himself, he moved toward the truck and was crushed under the vehicle's rear wheels. A coworker who witnessed the accident ran to the driver and had him pull forward, releasing Employee #1. He suffered serious injuries, including contusions to his face, right arm, and elbow, two fractured ribs, and a damaged lung that accumulated fluid. Employee #1 was transported to Martin Luther King Hospital, where he was stabilized and then transferred to Kaiser for treatment.

Keywords: CLEARANCE, FRACTURE, IND TRK OPERATOR, WORK RULES, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, TRUCK, TRACTOR TRAILER, LOADING DOCK, RUN OVER, BACKING UP