Abstract: At approximately 1:30 p.m. on December 8, 2003, Employee #1, a maintenance worker, was driving an industrial truck at Froz-Sun Foods, a company that distributes frozen perishable goods using manual and forklift loading operations in Vernon, CA. At the time of the incident, Employee #1's supervisor was trying to extend a dock plate in order to accommodate a tractor trailer truck that needed to be unloaded. The supervisor was having difficulty extending the dock plate. Employee #1 had been driving an industrial truck when he passed by the dock and stopped to help his supervisor with the dock plate. The supervisor asked the driver of the truck to move forward, which he did, stopping the truck approximately three feet from the dock. While the supervisor stood on top of the dock attempting to pry and extend the dock plate, Employee #1 stood on the ground between the dock and the truck, attempting to force the dock plate up from the bottom. After a period of time that the truck driver apparently thought was sufficient to extend the dock plate, the truck driver backed up, pinning Employee #1 between the truck and the dock bumper. The employee was hospitalized with chest injuries. From their positions, neither Employee #1 nor the supervisor could see the truck driver, and the driver confirmed that he was unable to see either of them. There was no audio communication between any of the three persons, and no other person was present to signal the driver. The truck was not equipped with any audio or visual warning devices to indicate that it was backing up at the time of the incident. It was determined that the accident was caused by the employer not ensuring that a spotter or a flagger was present in clear view of the operator to direct the backing operation in lieu of the truck being equipped with an audible warning device or automatic braking device.