Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119822427 - Glaspro Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on July 31, 2000, Employee #1 and two other employees were working for Galspro, Inc., a company that receives sheets of glass and then shapes and cuts them for customers. Just before the accident, Employee #1 and another employee were working in an open shed behind the plant. The other employee was operating a forklift and was moving glass, cleaning up the area, and throwing things away. According to Employee #1, the other employee asked Employee #1 to move his forklift so that the other employee could move some boxes. While the other employee was moving the boxes, one box fell causing the glass to break. Broken pieces of glass were all over the ground. Employee #1 could not get his forklift back in the area to move some glass frames because of the broken glass. Instead of cleaning up the broken glass, Employee #1 chose to move a large table. When Employee #1 moved the table, a large steel frame that was resting against the east wall began to fall. Employee #1 tried to run out of the way of the falling frame but was struck on the back of his head and his right shoulder. The employee was knocked to the ground. The frame came to rest on the employee's right hand. The other employee was working about 50 feet away and did not see the accident. Employee #1 ran the second employee was working and told the second employee that he was hurt. A third employee, the supervisor, arrived at the accident site and observed other employees assisting Employee #1. When asked why he did not clean up the glass instead of trying to move a heavy table by himself, Employee #1 said that since the other employee caused the glass to break, it was the other employee's job to clean up the glass. Employee #1 was transported to La Palma Hospital by a fellow employee and later transferred to Downey Hand Center. The middle and ring fingers of Employee #1's right hand were amputated and he cannot move his right index finger.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, IND TRK OPERATOR, FINGER, WORK RULES, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT, INATTENTION