Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300778032 - Timpson Enterprise

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 1:20 p.m. on September 13, 2001, Employee #1, an independent contractor for Damapong Textile Incorporated, had received a complaint from Damapong that resin from the water softener he had sold them was leaking into the water system and consequently into their product. He responded and fixed the problem. At the time of the accident, Employee #1 was working alone in the boiler room area of Damapong, where the water softener tank was located. No witnesses observed the incident. Approximately two feet from the water softener tank is a 33-inch-wide by 40-inch-long by 28-inch-deep drain, which was normally enclosed with a cover composed of 2-inch by 4-inch piece of lumber nailed together. This drain accepts water at a temperature of approximately 180 degrees Fahrenheit. At the time of the accident, the cover had been removed. No one, including Employee #1, knows how the cover was removed. Employee #1 stated that he would have had no reason to remove the cover, though he cannot remember who did. Damapong maintains that Employee #1 removed the cover to the drain. At some point during his inspection of the softener tank, Employee #1 fell into the open drain containing hot water. Another employee from Damapong discovered Employee #1 lying in the drain as he was walking to his car with another Damapong employee. Employee #1 was lying on his back with his feet sticking out of the drain. Employee #1 had thermal burns and has no memory regarding the events and the conditions. Employee #1 was taken by Compton Fire Department paramedics to Martin Luther King Hospital and subsequently transferred to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center, where he remained until November 21, 2001.

Keywords: BURN, FALL, TANK