Inspection Detail

Inspection: 314863267 - Huntington Memorial Hospital

Inspection Information - Office: Los Angeles District Office

Investigation Summary

On November 2, 2013, Employee #1, an environmental services worker with Huntington Memorial Hospital, was working in a patient's room (Number: 473) to hang a patient privacy curtain. Employee #1 found a three rung step ladder and climbed on the bottom rung to hang the curtain. Employee #1 lost his balance and fell off of the ladder (approximately one foot). Employee #1 was hospitalized for three days with a fractured right forearm. Attempts were made to contact Employee #1 by phone, letter and through his legal representative to arrange for an interview, but he was never interviewed. The employer's records were reviewed, and the representatives were interviewed. According to the information gathered, ladders were inspected as part of the hospital's Environmental Tours and prior to use. In addition, employees were given ladder training, and they knew to remove defective ladders from service and to report any defect to the supervisor. At some time, apparently, Employee #1 had reported that "he felt like the ladder was okay." No citations were issued to the employer as a result of this accident.

Keywords: FRACTURE, MAINTENANCE, LADDER, FALL, ARM, LOST BALANCE