Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1533045.015 - Conagra Foods Packaged Foods, Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Iowa 0751910

Investigation Summary

At 10:00 p.m. on May 19, 2021, an employee working as an HVAC technician for a food manufacturer was working on the top of Blast Cell 14. He had just finished clearing the condensation drain on the equipment to allow water to drain through when a defrost was initiated. The employee was being trained on how to perform this action. The coworker who was supervising him was handing him the required tools and then descended the ladder first when done. Afterwards, the employee went to descend the ladder. While performing the clearing operation of the condensation drain, the employee's boots had become wet. This water then froze on his boots. The employee was maintaining four points of contact on the ladder and began the descent. The employee took his foot off a rung, and went to place it on the next lower rung. While having three points of contact, the foot on the rung slipped and the employee could not maintain his grip. The employee fell to the ground. The employee was hospitalized to treat a broken femur, a broken ankle, five broken ribs, an injured back, and a bump to his head.

Keywords: Abdomen, Back, Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Broken Bone, Chest, Clearing, Clogged, Contusion, Descending Ladder, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Femur, Food processing, Foot, Fracture, Frozen, HVAC, Head, Inexperience, Knee, Ladder, Leg, Line Clearance, Maintenance, PPE, Repair, Rib, Slip, Slippery Surface, Wet, Wet Operation