Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 201067055 - Employee dies when chrushed by storage rack bundles
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
307027177 | 01/12/2004 | 5088 | 423860 | Mercer Transportation |
Abstract: At approximately 9:41 a.m. on January 12, 2004, Employee #1, a truck driver, was tasked with hauling some storage racks from Tennessee to California, where they were to be delivered to an empty warehouse under construction for installation. Another truck driver, from the same company as Employee #1, was also delivering storage racks to the empty warehouse. Once the truck driver arrived at the warehouse, he parked his truck, Number 4290, and flatbed trailer inside the warehouse to be offloaded. The trailer measured 48-inches wide by 102-inches long and there was a 4-inch nylon strap holding a bundle of eight upright pallet racks, to the trailer. Each upright bundle measured 54-inches wide by 264-inches long, weighed approximately 344 lbs (2,753 lbs total) and were held together with a 0.75-inch metal band. The truck driver removed the 4-inch strap and walked to the front passenger side of the truck cab to talk with another worker. With the truck driver located near the front of the truck, a forklift operator removed a small pallet of skids from the flatbed trailer and placed it by the truck. For some reason, a bundle of eight uprights fell to the ground onto the right rear portion of the trailer. The forklift operator and the truck driver were not near the truck or trailer, when the uprights fell, but Employee #1 was crushed. The truck driver noticed, minutes later, that Employee #1 was under the fallen uprights and attempted to free him. Employee #1 was pronounced dead due to the injuries sustained, which included head and torso injuries. During an investigation it was determined that Employee #1 had no reason to be near the truck driver's truck or trailer, but perhaps he was coming around to talk with the truck driver. Although it was the job of the forklift operator to off-load the storage rack materials from the truck trailer and remove the ties, the employer did not train their drivers on how to unload the trailer, nor did they advise their drivers of the hazards associated with removing the tie down straps. .
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 307027177 | Fatality | Other | Truck drivers, heavy |