Inspection Detail

Inspection: 309771939 - Atlas Components, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Naperville Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 1:20 p.m. on January 2, 2007, an employee and a coworker were removing a manufactured truss from a roller conveyor. The trusses are fed through a roller that crimps down the brackets on the trusses and they proceed to feed the trussed to a roller conveyor outside the building. When the employee reached across the conveyor to grab a truss from the top of the conveyor, he was struck in the back by a second truss that was automatically moving across the conveyor. The employee was momentarily pinned between the truss and one of the rollers on the conveyor. The coworker came to assist the employee and after a brief moment they both went back to work. The shift ended an hour and a half later and the employee went home. The employee and the coworker had received training on unloading the trusses. Both were wearing eye protection at the time of the incident. The night of the accident, the employee felt ill and decided to go to the hospital. The employee received diagnostic testing and was later released from the hospital with diagnosed bruised ribs. On January 10, 2007, the employee had dark stools and feelings of nausea and later returned to the hospital. The employee had numerous medical tests, procedures and operations until his death on February 16, 2007. The cause of death was listed as peritonitis due to chronic perforations of the stomach and intestines.

Keywords: TRUSS, CONVEYOR, RIB, STRUCK BY, CONTUSION