Inspection Detail

Inspection: 306800202 - Waste Management

Inspection Information - Office: Appleton Area Office

Investigation Summary

On June 11, 2005, Employee #1, who worked for Waste Management, was loading his truck after his second pickup. He noticed a longer piece of metal sticking up from the bed of the truck that interfered with drawing the cover tarp over the load. Employee #1, while dislodging the piece of metal, lost his footing, and fell backward, hitting his left side on a roll off bin that was staged next to the truck. During the fall, he sustained injuries to his ribs, spleen, arm, fingers, and also trauma to his head. His right index finger began to bleed and this was the only injury that he seemed concerned about. He finished with the load and drove an empty truck back to the yard, approximately ten miles from the incident; checked out of work, and went home. When he arrived at home he called his supervisor and reported that he had probably broken his finger, explaining the incident to his supervisor. He was told to go to the hospital and get his finger checked out. Employee #1 drove himself to the hospital where x-rays were taken and it was discovered that he had a broken arm, six broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, and a broken right index finger. Employee #1 was then transported to Green Bay for further treatment. Employee #1 died from his injuries five days later.

Keywords: FRACTURE, HEAD, COVER, FINGER, WASTE PROC FAC, TRUCK, RIB, FALL, LOST BALANCE