Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300755642 - Long Beach Unified - Polytech High School

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, a full time instructor in a high school, was closing and securing an exit door on the second floor of a school building annex. The door led from inside the building to the walkway leading to the second floor of the science building and to the elevator for the employee parking lot. She faced the door, placed both hands on it, and pulled it toward her, but the door was stuck. She then repositioned herself and went behind the door, placed her right hand on the handle and her left hand on the edge of the door, and pushed it hard with her shoulder and hip. The door suddenly came loose and pulled Employee #1 forward, knocking her off balance. As she tried to regain her balance, her right foot tripped over the door stop, and she fell forward, landing on her right knee and bent left leg. Employee #1 suffered a fractured left femur and damage to a previously implanted plastic kneecap, which required surgical repair this incident. The door was a standard sized unit with a glass window. It opened toward the outside and was equipped with a door stop latch to hold the door open. It was the school's policy to close these doors at the end of the school day.

Keywords: KNEE, FRACTURE, STUCK, TRIPPED, MANUAL MAT HANDLING, FALL, LOST BALANCE, DOOR, LEG