Inspection Detail

Inspection: 315777060 - Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Foster City District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on March 4, 2014, Employee #1, a product manager, was traveling from the second floor to the first floor to speak with someone in the Information Technology Department. She had a glitch with her computer. Employee #1 also worried that she would lose all her data in the hard drive. Employee #1 worked on the second floor of the building and she was going down the stairs. As she took her first two steps going down the stairs, she lost her footing, twisted her right ankle and fell down the stairs. She fell approximately 6 to 7 steps. Employee #1 landed and struck her back on each stair corner, occurring approximately six to seven times, as she was falling down the stairs. Each stairs was made of concrete and metal and had a rise of 7 in. and a run of 11 in. The stairs were in perfect condition. She ended up sitting down and settling on the third to the last step. Employee #1 sustained fractured L3 and L4 vertebrae and ruptured C5 and C6 discs. Employee #1 was transported to a medical center, where she received treatment, underwent additional care and was then hospitalized for five days.

Keywords: FRACTURE, STAIR, SPINE, BACK, FALL, LOST BALANCE, VERTEBRA, ANKLE