Inspection Detail

Inspection: 301333266 - Press Forge Co.

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

Approximately 11:30 a.m. on September 23, 2004, Employee #1 had been working with Employee #2 in the receiving area. Employee #1 operated a fork lift. He loaded and unloaded trucks and moved pallets of metal bars and round stock. At the time of the incident, Employee #4 told Employee #1 to cut the metal bands holding some metal bars together and to restack them with their heat numbers visible. Employee #3 said he saw Employee #1 cut the end and middle bands. Then, Employee #1 moved to the other side to cut the last end band. But, instead of standing to the side of the metal bars, Employee #1 was standing in front when he cut the last band. When Employee #1 cut the last end band, one of the metal bars rolled off the pallet and on to the right leg of Employee #1. The bar that struck Employee #1 was 4.72 in. thick, 14.5 in. wide and 160 in. long. Employee #4 said there were two bundles stacked one high on a pallet, and each bundle was one bar high and four bars wide. Employee #2 said Employee #1 had worked with him for about one month. During that time, Employee #1 had observed Employee #2 cutting many metal bands. Employee #2 always stood to the side when cutting the bands. Employee #1 was transported to St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood, CA. Employee #1 remained hospitalized for 6 days due to a fractured right leg.

Keywords: FRACTURE, METAL BAR, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, PALLET, LEG