Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1473256.015 - Ralphs Grocery Co.

Inspection Information - Office: San Diego District Office

Investigation Summary

At 3:37 p.m. on April 13, 2020, an employee working for a grocery store was walking through the store collecting items for online delivery services. The employee is a regular employee of the store and works in the grocery department. At 2:25 a.m. on April 13, 2020, the employee and coworkers started unloading frozen carts and pallets. The unloading took approximately 55 minutes with one large frozen pallet parked at the end of aisle 14. During unloading, employees would bring other carts with frozen food to unpack near the large frozen pallet at the end of aisle 14. These pallets were brought out by pallet jack, and they remained there until 3:19 a.m. By 3:30 a.m., most of the frozen unpacking had ceased and the crew had left the area with the carts. A wet area on the floor at the end of aisle 14 was never cleaned up from where the large frozen pallet sat for almost an hour. The employee was walking along the back aisle near the end of aisle 14 when, at approximately 3:37 a.m., her left front foot slid forward on the water and she landed on her right knee. The employee fractured her knee and was hospitalized after less than 24 hours. She sustained a right transverse patella fracture and required surgery to place a wire.

Keywords: Concrete Floor, Fall, Fall On Same Level, Food Handling, Fracture, Frozen, Grocery Store, Housekeeping, Knee, Material Handling, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Palletized Cargo, Slip, Slippery Surface, Unloading, Water, Wet