Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300871035 - Marriott International Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Los Angeles District Office

Investigation Summary

On June 14, 2010, the employer, Marriott International Inc., reported an industrial accident that had occurred the prior evening at the WP24 Restaurant, which is located on the 24th floor of the Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles. The employer reported that a cook had suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his left leg from hot oil that spilled out of a large cook pot that he and another co-worker were lifting to place atop the stove to cool. An inspection conducted on June 29th finds that that the accident occurred on Sunday, June 13, 2010 at 11:00 p.m. On that date at 10:00 p.m, which is the close of business, V1 who is a cook at the restaurant, turned off the fryer that was in the hot appetizer galley of the restaurant kitchen where he worked. The fryer is used to cook various appetizers in peanut oil and is set at 350-375-degrees Fahrenheit. He then proceeded to complete the other nightly closing tasks such as cleaning and putting the food items away for the night. Approximately one hour later, after completing the galley breakdown, he drained the peanut oil from the fryer into a 34-qt commercial grade stainless steel stock pot (dimensions 16-in diameter and 9.5-in depth) with two handles and which weighed 18- lbs empty. Company procedures require that the peanut oil be drained from the fryer on a nightly basis, time permitting, so that fresh oil is provided into the fryer the next day. When the oil (approximately 5-gallons) was drained into the pot, he called for the assistance of his co-worker (W1) to help lift the pot to the stove top. As the two employees were lifting the pot, V1 stated that he didn't have a good grip on the handle and needed to set it back down. The two workers were not synchronized in lowering the pot and it toppled over on the floor causing the hot oil to spill out onto V1's left foot. The worker suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his ankle and foot that required multiple surgeries. He was hospitalized for 17 consecutive days. The injured worker had been employed at the restaurant since it opened in March 2010 and had previous work experience as a cook as well as a degree in culinary arts. The employer provided a written procedure for the job task of draining and disposing of the cooking oil from the deep fryer, which specified that the oil be allowed to cool for one hour to be between 120-150-degrees Fahreinheit; however, the employer did not conduct inspections of the worksite to ensure that employees were following the procedure nor did employer determine that 1-hour was sufficient to allow proper cooling to the desired temperature. On serious citation for an ineffective IIPP with missing elements in writing and elements not implemented with proposed penalty of $5,060.00 issued to the employer following the accident investigation.