Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1374780.015 - Solara Medical Supplies Llc

Inspection Information - Office: San Diego District Office

Investigation Summary

At 5:00 p.m. on January 22, 2019, an employee was working for a distributor of medical devices. He was at a pharmacy that had storage racks in the back for storing stock. Work operations there included shipping and receiving of product and sales of product. The employee was putting boxes on shelves. He jumped up to push a box further back on the top shelf. The height of the top shelf of the shelving was about 2.3 meters (7.5 feet). When he came down, his wedding ring caught on the vertical bracket railing at the top of the shelving. The employee suffered a degloving injury of the ring finger on his left hand. A surgeon amputated most of his ring finger while the employee was in the hospital. The employee was not hospitalized. A 1.2-meter (4-foot) portable ladder was available, but the employee did not use it. A coworker was working as a shipping specialist behind the shipping and receiving desk in the back area of the pharmacy, 3.6 meters (12 feet) away. She was a direct witness. She saw the employee jump up on the shelving and get his left ring finger caught on the vertical bracket of the top shelf of the shelving. San Diego DOSH learned of the accident at about 9:40 p.m. on January 22, 2019. The employer complied with the reporting requirements. The employee did not tell the employer that he had suffered a serious injury until early in the morning on January 22, 2019. A representative from San Diego DOSH arrived at the site at 3:15 p.m. on January 31, 2019. One causal factor of the incident was that the employee did not use the portable ladder. Although it was available, he had not received portable ladder safety training, including warehouse safety training on not climbing up on shelving to access stock or items. Another factor was that the employer was not doing periodic inspections to identify unsafe work practices, such as that of employees climbing up shelving racks to access stock or items.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Avulsion, Climbing, Finger, Ladder, Storage Area, Storage Rack, Training