Inspection Detail

Inspection: 306375577 - E & R Pallet

Inspection Information - Office: Denver Area Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was identifying bundles of lumber for purchase while another employee was operating a forklift and moving the bundles. The bundles were arranged in a row with four stacks. The front stack was four bundles high (approximately 11 feet high). The second and third stacks were each six bundles high (approximately 16.5 feet high). The fourth stack was four bundles high (approximately 11 feet high). The top bundle of the front stack had been moved by the forklift operator and placed on a pallet truck, which was parked approximately 36 feet from the stacked lumber bundles. As the third bundle of the front stack was being moved by the forklift, the top four bundles of the second stack shifted and three of those bundles fell over the remaining two bundles of the front stack and struck Employee #1, who was standing approximately 14 feet from the front stack, killing him. The stacked lumber was placed on an earthen surface that was damp and had been exposed to snow and fluctuating temperatures during the prior week. It was also reported that the stacks had been leaning forward prior to the accident.

Keywords: CRUSHED, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, LUMBER, PALLET, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT