The accident investigation below was opened on Wednesday, August 2nd 2017 by OSHA representitives in Concord, CA which had occured previously at Saxco International Llc. A 38 year old man working as a Packaging was killed on the job when the
Accident Date2017-07-21
Accident DegreeFatality
NarrativeAt 1:00 p.m. on July 21, 2017, two employees were unloading a truck with pallets of 750ml wine bottles, labeling them, and stacking them in the back of the warehouse, using a YALE forklift truck. The employer has a warehouse where bulk materials are brought in via trucks and an assembly area where packaging is assembled. On the day of the accident, the employees stacked the pallets, which are pre-wrapped in plastic and strapped, two high in a double wide row. The pallets are 46 inches square, 7 feet 2 inches tall, and weigh about 1800 lbs. The two employees asked a third employee to come help them when one of the stacked pallets tipped over and was leaning against the adjacent wall. Employee #3 up the ladder, which was a step ladder that was not opened fully, but leaned against the adjacent wall. Employee #3 was standing near the top of the ladder pushing the pallet away from the wall when he lost his balance as the pallet was pushed back into place, and he fell head first to the floor, and suffered a head injury and died. The accident was caused by a lack of ladder safety training, using a stepladder incorrectly, over reaching from the ladder, not using a safe means to access the high pile, not ensuring that forklift loads were secured from tipping, and not stacking material so it doesn't create a hazard.