Inspection Detail

Inspection: 307169854 - Americold Logistics

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 3:00 a.m. on September 18, 2006, an employee was working his usual assignment as a forklift operator loading pallets of product onto trucks on the dock area. The equipment involved in the accident was a Hyster Counter Balance 3,700 pound capacity forklift. The operator was in a standup position, while he was operating this forklift. The normal procedure prior to loading was that the product was stacked on a pallet and a tag sheet with a printed bar code was placed on top of the pallet. The tag sheets bar code had the information of the product that was on the pallet and was scanned, by the forklift operator prior to loading. The forklift's movement was controlled by a joystick and was also equipped with a mounted computer and a handheld scanner unit. The scanner was wired to the computer by a coil cord. Prior to the accident, another operator was having a problem with his scanner and asked the employee to scan a pallet for him. The employee backed his forklift along side the coworker's forklift. When the employee grabbed his scanner, he did not realize that the scanner's cord had wrapped itself around the joystick. He pulled on the cord, the joystick engaged the forklift to back up unexpectedly and partially knocked him off the forklift, pinning him between the two forklifts. A coworker was able to disengage the forklift and assisted to free the employee. After the accident, emergency medical services were called. The employee was stabilized and transported by the paramedics to County USC Medical Center, where he was admitted and remained for six days. He was treated for broken pelvic bone.

Keywords: FRACTURE, CAUGHT BETWEEN, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, PELVIS, FALL