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Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA

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Inspection Detail



Accident Investigation Summary
Summary Nr: 202149175 Event: 02/04/2009Employee Dies From Accidental Drug Overdose
At approximately 7:45 a.m. on February 4, 2009, Employee #1, a 34-year-old custodial worker, was found unresponsive in the first floor restroom by a female custodial worker. The coworker had knocked on the restroom's door. She had intended to use the outlet in the bathroom to power a vacuum cleaner. After receiving no response, she had entered the restroom and immediately noticed that someone was in one of the bathroom stalls and she left. At approximately 8:00 a.m., another coworker entered the restroom, heard a beeper in one of the stalls, noticed that the man in the stall was not responsive and left the room and yelled out to "call 911". The Maintenance Supervisor called the campus police and entered the room. The second coworker unlocked the stall, removed Employee #1 from the toilet, and placed him on the floor. Several more people entered the restroom including a third coworker. The third coworker proceeded to administer CPR. A fourth coworker arrived with an AED and proceeded to use the AED. The AED did not detect a heart beat. At approximately 8:15 a.m., Employee #1 was rushed by an ambulance crew to the emergency room at a local hospital. Employee #1 was pronounced dead at approximately 9:15 a.m. Upon further investigation, Employee #1 had reported to work at approximately 6:10 a.m. and requested cleaning supplies. He was supplied with HydrOxy Pro cleaning solution. The ingredients were Hydrogen Peroxide and Alcohol Exthoxylate. He was assigned to the third floor lobby to do general cleaning and filling in for other absent custodians on a daily basis. He was expected to use a broom to pick up any dust and paper on the floors. The fatality was investigated by the Suffolk County Police Department's Homicide Bureau. Preliminary data appeared to indicate that Employee #1 died of a possible drug overdose. Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office determined that Employee #1 had died of an accidental overdose.
Keywords: janitor, drug overdose
Inspection Degree Nature Occupation
1 311645501 Fatality Other Janitors and cleaners

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