Cafeterias

NarrativeAt approximately 1:55 p.m. on July 27, 2012, Employee #1 was working as a waitress for Louis Haras, dba Oympic Flame Cafe, in San Francisco, CA. The employer operated a neighborhood restaurant. The employer was cooking at a grill. Employee #1 was walking in the dining area toward the back kitchen, approximately 16 feet (4.9 meters) away from the grill, when she fell onto the tile floor. Employee #1 screamed when she fell onto the floor. She had dislocated her left knee. She made her way ahead a few feet to sit on the floor and leaned back against the end of a counter. A call was placed to emergency medical services, and they arrived. Employee #1's husband also came to meet her at the restaurant. Employee #1 was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where she stayed for five days. Surgery was performed to insert pins and wires into the knee. The incident was reported to the Division by the San Francisco Fire Department on the same day. A Cal/OSHA Engineer conducted the investigation at the workplace on August 30, 2012. Employee #1, her employer, and coworkers were interviewed during the course of the investigation. There were no serious accident-related violations cited. Employee #1 may have had an existing knee problem, and on the day of the incident, the floor was not wet or slippery. Employee #1 was holding a glass containing ice cubes in her hand, and somehow during her fall, the glass was not broken, the ice cubes were not spilled, and the glass rested on the floor right side up with the ice cubes still inside the glass. The cause of her fall could not be determined. The condition of the tiled floor was still in good condition. The tile was a special slip-resistant tile. The employer did not report the incident to the Division, though, and he was cited for that. Other violations were observed, and the employer was cited accordingly.