Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120208228 - Pride Industries

Inspection Information - Office: Sacramento District Office

Investigation Summary

On March 31, 2007, an employee was working as part of a janitorial staff cleaning the kitchen area of the college cafeteria. One of her jobs and the one she was attempting at the time of injury was the removal of exhaust filters from the hood covering four deep fryers, which contained hot oil. The company policy was to use a stepladder to gain the height needed to reach the filters. However, on the night of the accident, the ladder was not found in the area where it was normally stored and the worker could not find it. Therefore, she obtained a small stool and went to her workstation. She set the stool in front of the deep fryers with the intention of stepping from the stool to the top of the deep fryer unit, which had light, metal covers over each deep fryer. A second company policy was to adhere to a "buddy rule," when performing this job because the company considered it to be too dangerous to perform alone. Nevertheless, the second employee was working elsewhere and the employee proceeded alone to step onto the deep fryer cover, which immediately failed to support the worker's weight and her left foot slipped into the hot oil causing second and third degree burns, which required surgery and eight days hospitalization.

Keywords: BURN, CLEANING, FRYER, FOOT