Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1320248.015 - Mccormick And Company, Incorporated

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:10 a.m. on June 4, 2018, an employee was working for a firm that produced spices and marketed them nationwide. He was working as a distribution technician in a warehouse and loading dock facility. He was operating a forklift. He was loading pallets onto the trailer unit of a tractor trailer. The tractor trailer was located at the facility's Dock 40. According to the employee, he first entered the trailer with two pallets. Upon leaving the trailer, he noticed moisture on the inside ceiling of the trailer. He called over a coworker, another distribution technician of the employer, to take a look at the moisture in the truck to see if it was condensation or a leak on the ceiling. Dock 41, adjacent to Dock 40, was open. The two employees decided to call over the driver to ask him about the moisture. The driver said that he had been hauling watermelons before coming to this job. The moisture in the truck was condensation. According to the employee, the driver had been told that the workers were good to keep working. The employee went back to his forklift. He started to load another two pallets into the trailer. As he reached the end of the dock plate on his forklift, the driver pulled away from the dock. The employee was still loading the truck's trailer. The forklift was partially in the trailer when the driver pulled away. The forklift fell backward out of the trailer. It fell approximately 1.2 meters (4 feet) to asphalt while the employee was still in the industrial truck. The employee sustained multiple fractures in his left foot. He was hospitalized. According to interviews with several workers, the truck driver had a red light. He should not have left the dock. The employee had the green light to enter the truck's trailer.

Keywords: Fall, Falling Object, Foot, Fracture, Ind Trk Operator, Industrial Truck, Loading Dock, Loading Ramp, Tractor Trailer, Trailer, Trailer Truck, Warehouse