Inspection Detail

Inspection: 315352310 - Eller-Ito Stevedoring Company Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Fort Lauderdale Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 7:05 p.m. on March 30, 2011, Employee #1, a longshoreman, was part of a two-man crew assigned to unleash a container chassis, which weighed 6,880 pounds. The chassis was on an access ramp and secured to the ramp by chains. Employee #1 and a coworker, called a lasher, were underneath the front nose section of the container chassis and removing its chains. The chassis rolled forward and fell of its stand. The weight of the chassis buckled its landing gear, causing it to fall on its nose and skid forward down the incline. The chassis came to a stop at approximately 8 ft. Employee #1 was caught-in-between the chassis and the ramp, sustaining crushing injuries that killed him. The investigation revealed that the chassis carried a chassis-mounted refrigerated container weighing 57,100 pounds. The ramp had an incline of approximately 10 degrees and the chassis front nose section was down the slope. The chassis wheels were not chocked and the chassis had non-operable brakes. The chassis was not connected to a tractor and the employees moved down the ramp unlashing the chassis at the rear and working their way to the front section.

Keywords: LONGSHORING, UNSECURED, CRUSHED, STRUCK BY, CONTAINERIZED CARGO, FALLING OBJECT, UNSTABLE POSITION