Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302250766 - Farmer Brothers Coffee Co.

Inspection Information - Office: Kansas City Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, an assistant branch manager at a distribution warehouse for the Farmer Brothers Coffee Company, spent July 12 to July 16, 1999 on vacation with his family. He spent five days at the Lake of the Ozarks in south central Missouri, during which time he sustained at least two tick bites. Employee #1 returned home on July 14 and on July 17 started to complain of flu-like symptoms. The next day he developed severe abdominal pains and was admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died of renal failure on July 20, 1999. Employee #1's death was assumed not to be related to work and no investigation was initiated. On November 22, 1999, the Jackson County Medical Examiner's office notified OSHA that Employee #1's lab results revealed high levels the heavy metals chromium, cadmium, and nickel in his blood and urine samples, which were taken during an autopsy on July 20. However, the high levels were not detected when he was admitted to the hospital on July 18. An inspection was initiated on November 23, 1999, to determine if Employee #1's death could have resulted from work-related exposure. The distribution warehouse had been located in "the caves" for nine years. Employee #1 started with the company as a sales trainee in 1984 before being promoted to a route salesman, a position he had held for approximately 13 years. Employee #1 spent the most of his time in the field selling and delivering coffee and other food products to commercial account customers. He was in the warehouse for two hours a day on two days a week, loading products onto his truck. Approximately three years before his death, Employee #1 was promoted to assistant branch manager, which involved supervising route salesmen, taking over routes for coworkers during vacation and sick days, conducting inventory, and making sales calls. He spent about half of his time working in the cave office/warehouse and the other half working on routes in the field. Following a walking tour of the warehouse and office space, and interviews with management and employees, no work-related cause for Employee #1's death was established.

Keywords: DELIVERY WORK, ABDOMEN, ANIMAL BITE, KIDNEY