Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1445086.015 - Rol-Tec Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Appleton Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 5:00 p.m. on November 6, 2019 an employee working as a Laborer for a rubber manufacturer was driving a forklift around the backside of the building. The employee had just returned from depositing empty pallets at the curb. He was taking pallets from the production facility and transferring them to the curb outside of the facility. It had been snowing and the ground was snow covered at the time. The employee exited the west side of the facility, drove through the parking lot to the south and dropped the pallets off at the curb. The employee then circled around the east side of the facility and used the emergency access lane on the north side of the facility to re-enter the west side of the facility. The emergency access lane ends on a paved ramp leading onto the parking lot area. The employee had performed two trips successfully and had was circling around from dropping off the third load of pallets. As the employee descended the ramp with the forklift, the forklift began to slide down the ramp. The forklift tipped over the side of the ramp and pinned the employee under the roll cage. The employee was not utilizing the seat belt at the time of the incident. The employee sustained injuries to his spine, heart, ribs, femur and hip including a fracture to his back, ribs, hip and femur and was hospitalized.

Keywords: Back, Caught Between, Chest, Forklift, Fracture, Heart, Hip, Industrial Truck, Leg, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Motor Vehicle, Pinned, Powered Industrial Vehicle, Rib, Roll-Over, Seat Belt, Slippery Surface, Weather, Work Surface