Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300861184 - U.S. Merchants

Inspection Information - Office: San Bernardino District Office

Investigation Summary

At 11:22 a.m. on December 27, 2002, Employee #1, a warehouse worker, sustained serious foot and ankle injuries as a result of a fall of approximately 9 feet 9 inches from atop stacked cardboard boxes to the concrete warehouse floor. The employer is in the business of specialty packaging of goods for retail sales. The hammocks were shipped in cardboard boxes weighing approximately 90 pounds and measured 5 feet 7.5 inches by 17 inches by 17 inches. Employee #1, a full time employee of this employer, was standing on top of a stack of seven cardboard boxed hammocks as he attempted to lower them to ground level for palletizing and preparing the boxed hammocks for shipment. As Employee #1 was working at this elevation on top of the boxed hammocks, he lost his footing and fell, resulting in a fractured right ankle and cracked left heel. Employee #1 was transported by paramedics to the Chino Valley Medical Center were he was treated and released on an outpatient basis. He was later admitted to the Chino Valley Medical Center on January 10, 2003, where he was hospitalized in excess of 24 hours for an operation on his right ankle.

Keywords: FRACTURE, PALLETIZED CARGO, WAREHOUSE, FALL, LOST BALANCE, ANKLE