Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1450389.015 - Robertson-Ceco Ii Corporation

Inspection Information - Office: Eau Claire Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 7:30 a.m. on December 6, 2019, an employee of the material transportation company (Employee # 1) was non-fatally injured while helping two of the delivery site's employees unload a bundle of 29-foot long sheet steel from the delivery trailer with a forklift, spreader bar, and two nylon straps. The lifting straps were adjusted by Employee #1 and a coworker, while the sheet steel was resting on the trailer, and then a second coworker lifted the sheet steel vertically a couple inches above the trailer again to check stability. The load was level side-to-side and front-to back, so Employee #1 stayed on top of the semi-trailer (toward the front), while a coworker turned around to find a place for the forklift operator to set down the sheet steel at ground level when it gets unloaded from the delivery truck. Employee #1 was struck by and knocked over by the spreader bar when it, and the sheet steel it was supporting, came off the tines of the forklift that was being used to lift it off the semi-trailer. Employee #1 landed on the trailer deck that he was standing on after being struck by the spreader bar and remained on the trailer until he was removed from there on a backboard by emergency medical services. Employee #1 was transported to a local hospital, where he was admitted to the hospital and received medical attention for the multiple injuries. (A violation for not securing loads under 1910.178 was issued to the host site employer, Bauman Construction, during their inspection 1450252, which was initiated concurrently with this investigation). The employee suffered the following injuries: fractured vertebrae in the neck, fractured vertebrae in the lower back, lower leg fractured in three locations, and a small cut to back of head.

Keywords: Back, Delivery Work, Falling Object, Forklift, Fracture, Head, Laceration, Leg, Neck, Spreader Bar, Steel, Struck By, Tractor Trailer, Unloading, Vertebra