Inspection Detail

Inspection: 315817569 - U-Haul Moving & Storage Of Cheltenham (812082)

Inspection Information - Office: Osha Philadelphia Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 4:50 p.m. on Friday, November 4, 2011, Employee #1 was working as the general manager of a U-Haul moving and storage firm in Philadelphia, PA. The firm had a self-storage facility. At the end of the workday, Employee #1 picked up his two children and was preparing to go home. At that time, a customer called. She had previously rented a "U-Box," a mobile portable storage container, and had loaded it with personal materials. It was on her property, and she wanted it taken back to the self-storage facility. Employee #1 drove a Ford F-150 XL pickup truck, with license plate AE-15576, and bearing the firm's number BP1776H, to the customer's property, in Philadelphia, PA. The U-Haul contract number was 812082-00002754. He connected the truck to the UB 1347B utility trailer that was carrying the U-Box. The trailer was 5 feet wide by 8 feet long (1.5 meters by 2.4 meters), and it had license plate UA 204. The box had number AA4728A. It was 5 feet wide by 8 feet long by 7.5 feet tall (1.5 meters by 2.4 meters by 2.3 meters). It weighed 2,940 pounds (1,334 kilograms). He returned this load to the retail center. At the retail center, he used a Hyster Model Number H50XM lift truck, with Serial Number H177B54045B, to lift the U-Box off the utility trailer. It had a 42 inch (1,070 millimeter) carriage attachment that extended to 60 inches (1,520 millimeters). The load was positioned lengthwise. Employee #1 had planned to transport the load into the self-storage facility. Apparently, while he was moving this load, it became unstable and began to tilt to the left side. He immediately jumped out of the forklift and attempted to steady the load with his hands. Instead, it fell off the forklift and onto him. He was pinned underneath the load. He sustained several blunt impact injuries, in the form of multiple rib fractures and abrasions to his back. He was killed. The facility's security camera, surveillance camera number 16, did not have a complete view of the accident. The accident was not recorded, but some of movements of Employee #1, his children, and coworkers both before and after the accident were recorded by this camera. A review of the security surveillance camera footage indicates that the accident occurred at approximately 4:50:31 p.m. The only direct witnesses to the accident who could recount the event were Employee #1's two children, who were 5 and 11 years old. They were inside Employee #1's Honda Civic.

Keywords: FRACTURE, WAREHOUSE, PINNED, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, TRUCK, ABRASION, TRAILER, FALLING OBJECT, TRUCK DRIVER, UNSTABLE LOAD