Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119636108 - Labor Ready, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: American Canyon District Office

Investigation Summary

On April 1, 2004, Employee #1, a day laborer, and coworkers were contracted by a video company to move furniture from a store located in Petaluma, CA to another in Santa Rosa, CA. Employee #1 and one of his coworkers drove to the Petaluma store, using the coworker's car. They worked loading furniture into a Hertz rental truck for about an hour. Two additional coworkers arrived and assisted Employee #1 and the other coworker load the truck. Once the truck was loaded, the foreman for the video store asked if Employee #1 and his coworkers would drive one of their vehicles to the Santa Rosa location, but they refused. The foreman originally planned on driving the rental truck himself to Santa Rosa, with an employee in the cab, and the rest of the employees would travel in one car. The foreman decided to take his truck and one of Employee #1's coworkers drove the rental truck, and was issued a two-way phone in case of emergencies. Once the foreman, Employee #1, and the coworkers arrived at the Santa Rosa store, the foreman instructed the coworker, operating the rental truck, to drive the truck around to the back of the store. The foreman then went into the store to open the back door, while the coworker began to backup the rental truck to the glass door. Employee #1 and another coworker stationed themselves on both sides of the truck to assist with directions. For some reason, Employee #1 attempted to move from the passenger to the driver's side of the rental truck by walking past its rear. The truck was moving very fast and Employee #1 became pinned between the truck and an exterior wall. One of his coworkers attracted the attention of the coworker driving the vehicle, and got him to pull forward. Employee #1 was hospitalized and treated for multiple contusions and abrasions.

Keywords: ABDOMEN, PINNED, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CRUSHED, TRUCK, ABRASION, MOTOR VEHICLE, CONTUSION