Inspection Detail

Inspection: 309296325 - Ups

Inspection Information - Office: Foster City District Office

Investigation Summary

On August 14, 2006, Employee #1, a delivery driver, was delivering packages to a large hardware and fastener company. Employee #1 made deliveries to the company five days a week and had done so for approximately 5 years. Employee #1 operated a standard van. As per his routine, Employee #1 backed his van into the standard 18-wheeler loading dock, walked to the back of his van, opened the roll-up door while standing on the bumper, retrieved the packages and gave them off to a receiving employee. As Employee #1 attempted to lock the sliding door on the van his keys fell into the slot of the main dock plate and the lip mechanism. Employee #1 asked an on-site employee to activate the dock plate so he could retrieve his keys. As that employee hit the power to activate the hydraulically driven dock plate, Employee #1 stood on his bumper waiting for the dock plate to rise. Employee #1 had never seen the dock plate activated and as it rose, the lip mechanism that extends into the bed of a standard 18-wheeler trailer started to extend pinning Employee #1 to the roll-up door of his van. An alert employee jumped into the van and released the parking brake allowing the van to go forward and relieve pressure on Employee #1's abdominal cavity. Employee #1 suffered a crushed middle colic artery and other abdominal injuries requiring surgery and eight days of hospitalization.

Keywords: ABDOMEN, LOADING RAMP, CAUGHT BETWEEN, TRUCK, ARTERY, TRUCK DRIVER