Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310091400 - Devcon Construction Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Foster City District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 9:59 a.m. on January 24, 2007, Employee #1 was working for Devcon Construction, of San Bruno, CA. He and a coworker were on the first floor of a building, which was actually its second story, to take out a pallet jack from a wooden box that held debris. The box was lifted up on the blades of a forklift and elevated to a first floor (second story) window. Unable to pull out the pallet jack from the box while they were standing on the floor, Employee #1 and his coworker went into the box. It is a common practice to go in the box and pull out items when they can not be dragged out. The workers have done this many times in the past, and the foreman knows about the practice. The box was not tied off or secured to the forklift, and the forks were not spread or opened all the way to balance the load. While Employee #1 was still in the box with the pallet jack, his coworker stepped out of the box. This caused the box to become imbalanced and fall approximately 15 feet down onto the dirt. Employee #1 sustained a cut above his eyebrow and a fractured left wrist. He was taken by paramedics to the emergency room at San Francisco General Hospital, and he was released on the same day, with a need to make further visits for his fractured wrist. On the next day, he went to the Regional Medical Center of San Jose for a follow-up visit, where he was referred to Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose for surgery on his left wrist. Employee #1 was admitted to that hospital at approximately 7:55 a.m. on January 26, 2007, and he was hospitalized for more than 24 hours. He was released from that hospital at approximately 10:20 a.m. on January 27, 2007.

Keywords: FRACTURE, CONSTRUCTION, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, LACERATION, FALL, ELEVATED WORK PLAT, FALLING OBJECT, UNSTABLE LOAD, WRIST