Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1484370.015 - United Metal Concepts, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: San Diego District Office

Investigation Summary

At 3:26 p.m. on July 9, 2020, an employee working as a welder and construction laborer for a structural steel contractor was performing renovation work at a strip mall. The employee is a regular employee of the subcontractor. Coworker #1, his supervisor, assigns him to a job when they meet at the shop, and Coworker #2, his foreman at the job site, directs his work. The employee and Coworker #2 arrived at the jobsite sometime between 7:00 a.m. and 8 a.m. and worked a normal day. At the end of the shift, the employee was assisting Coworker #2 moving a 10-inch by 12-inch by 15-foot steel I-beam from the staging area to a pickup truck to return to the shop. The beam was located on the ground outside of the building in a materials storage area. The material storage area was surrounded by a construction fence and was directly in front of the building they were working on, in an area that is a parking lot for the shopping center. Coworker #2 was driving a JLG Gradall Model G6-42P rough terrain forklift into the storage area while the employee attached a choker and a long lead line to the beam. He then attached the choker to the forks at which time Coworker #2 lifted the beam so that it was only a few feet off of the ground at which time the employee rotated the beam, so it was parallel with boom as the forklift moved backward through a gate. The employee held onto the beam at the end closest to the forklift's front tires and when they had cleared the gate, he yelled to Coworker #2 they were clear as he continued to hold onto the beam. Coworker #2 continued to move forward, but lost sight of the employee. The employee was knocked down and run over by the front right wheel of a forklift crushing his left leg and foot. Coworker #3, general contractor superintendent, returned to the site and called 911 when Coworker #2 notified him. The employee fractured his left femur, was hospitalized, and required his left lower leg be amputated below the knee.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Construction, Contusion, Driver, Femur, Forklift, Fracture, Industrial Truck, Leg, Material Handling, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, PIV, Powered Industrial Vehicle, Run Over, Struck By, Surgical Amputation, Unsafe Position, Walking Surface, Wheel, Work Surface