Inspection Detail

Inspection: 307035840 - K-Surplus Sales Inc

Inspection Information - Office: San Diego District Office

Investigation Summary

At 9:30 a.m. on August 8, 2006, Employee #1 was working at a recycling yard in National City, CA. The firm sold nuts, bolts, and surplus hardware at retail. A coworker operating a Caterpillar T40B forklift raised him in a cage platform positioned on the truck's forks to an elevation of 10 to 15 feet above the ground. The cage platform was not secured to the mast or forks of the truck. Employee #1 was throwing folded cardboard boxes from the cage platform into an 8-foot tall dumpster bin. He might have moved in the cage, but for whatever reason, it slipped off the forks. The cage and Employee #1 fell, with the cage hitting the asphalt surface below. The cage also struck Employee #1 during the fall. Employee #1 sustained a broken right femur, a broken right wrist, a fractured right shoulder, a broken nose, the loss of four lower teeth, and a perforated left ear drum. The site manager was purchasing parts at another store and was not at the accident scene when the accident happened. The coworker contacted another employee, who contacted emergency medical services. Paramedics arrived about 20 minutes after the accident happened and transported Employee #1 to UCSD Medical Center in San Diego. Employee #1 was hospitalized for three days for surgery and treatment. Employee #1 sustained a broken right femur, a broken right wrist, a fractured right shoulder, a fractured nose, the loss of four lower teeth, and a perforated left ear drum.

Keywords: FRACTURE, CLEANING, STRUCK AGAINST, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, FALL, ELEVATED WORK PLAT, FALLING OBJECT, LEG, UNSTABLE POSITION, WRIST