Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1497067.015 - U-Haul Of West Central Colorado

Inspection Information - Office: Englewood Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 5:45 p.m. on October 9, 2020, an employee was working for a firm that rented or leased trucks, utility trailers, and recreational vehicles (RVs). She was operating a Toyota sit-down forklift. She was not wearing a seat belt. She was removing a sign affixed to a pallet on top of a wooden crate. She backed the forklift up onto a 12- or 13-degree concrete ramp at an angle. The forklift fell over on top of the operator, pinning her against the ground. The employee suffered a fractured pelvis and leg. She was hospitalized. The light level was low in the area, less than 5 foot-candles (54 lumens per square meter, or 54 lux). The employee was operating the powered industrial vehicle without supervision and before being fully trained and certified on the forklift. The assistant store manager was the manager onsite that night. A third employee was there too, but the manager did not know if that third person was certified on the forklift. The manager learned after the fact learned that the injured employee third person was not certified, even though she had told him that she was certified. He had taken her work for it. The manager did not wear a seat belt when he used the forklift. He felt it was as much as a hazard as a safety device. He considered the employees themselves competent to make the decision to wear a seat belt if they were certified. Employees were operating the Toyota forklift without completing their forklift training.

Keywords: Backing Up, Broken Bone, Forklift, Fracture, Ind Trk Operator, Leg, Manager, PIV, Pelvis, Pinned, Powered Industrial Vehicle, Ramp, Seat Belt, Slope, Sloping, Supervisor, Tips Over, Training, Untrained