Inspection Detail

Inspection: 304155724 - Panasonic

Inspection Information - Office: Naperville Area Office

Investigation Summary

On March 12, 2001, Employee #1, a Panasonic employee, fell down a flight of stairs while leaving from work. She was admitted to the hospital on March 12, 2001. At the hospital, it was determined that she suffered no broken bones or blunt force trauma. At approximately 3:00 a.m. on March 13, 2001, Employee #1's kidneys apparently began to fail. Employee #1 died later that day. An autopsy was performed by the Kane County Coroner. The Coroner determined that the primary cause of death was a mixed chemical interaction. The autopsy showed anatomic evidence of acute and chronic congestive heart failure in the form a right atrial dilation, passive congestion of the liver and spleen, acute pulmonary edema and congestion, peritoneal effusion and generalized upper body edema. The toxicology studies done of the blood samples taken at the hospital showed the presence of non-toxic levels of diphenhydramine, meperidine and its metabolite, and venlafaxine and its metabolite. Also found was 13 mg/dl of ethylene glycol, which, at this level is not high enough to be lethal by itself. Diphenhydramine, venlafaxine, meperidine and ethylene glycol are all central nervous system depressants. Furthermore, ethylene glycol is metabolized to glycolate, glyoxylate and glycolaldehyde. The latter two chemicals are even more toxic than ethylene glycol. They produce deleterious effects by disturbing lactic acid metabolism to produce lactic acidosis. This condition impacts the heart and produces acute and chronic congestive heart failure, as resulted in this case.

Keywords: HEART, STAIR, FALL, KIDNEY, POISONING