Inspection Detail

Inspection: 313645442 - Select Staffing

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At 10:50 a.m. on May 8, 2012, Employee #1 of Select Staffing, the primary employer, was working as a warehouse laborer (swamper) at Price Transfer Inc. on the day of the accident. Employee #1 and Employee #2 (swampers) were emptying by hand a parked truck trailer. The truck trailer was parked at Loading Dock 113 at Warehouse Number Three. As Employee #1 and Employee #2 emptied the truck trailer by hand, they came upon a 5 to 6 foot long, approximately 600 pound round bottom air compressor standing on its legs against the side of the truck trailer. Needing to remove the air compressor from the truck trailer, Employee #1 and Employee #2 asked Employee #3, a forklift operator, to remove the air compressor from the truck trailer. The forklift operator entered the truck trailer and placed the forklift forks underneath the round bottom of the compressor and lifted the air compressor in its vertical position and started to back out of the truck trailer. As the forklift operator moved backwards, Employee #1 and Employee #2 entered the truck trailer and stood on the sides of the air compressor so as to balance (support) the air compressor on the forks of the forklift as the forklift moved backward. As the forklift moved to the dock plate between the trailer and the loading dock, the air compressor shifted and started to fall in the direction of Employee #1. As the compressor fell, Employee #1 attempted to move out of the air compressor's way; however, Employee #1 could not get completely out of the way and the lower section of the air compressor fell onto Employee #1's right leg. Once the air compressor landed on Employee #1's right leg, Employee #3 backed the forklift out of the trailer and with the assistance of Employee #2 freed Employee #1 from the under the air compressor, and sat Employee #1 down. A supervisor was notified, who then called Emergency Services. The Los Angeles County fire department and paramedics responded and transported Employee #1 to Harbor UCLA Hospital in Carson, California. At Harbor UCLA Hospital, Employee #1 was admitted and underwent surgery on May 9, 2012, for the fracture he received to his lower right leg.

Keywords: COMPRESSOR, FRACTURE, WAREHOUSE, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, STRUCK BY, TRAILER, LEG