Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1512350.015 - Perishable Distributors Of Iowa, Ltd

Inspection Information - Office: Iowa 0751910

Investigation Summary

At 8:30 p.m. on January 21, 2021, an employee working as a heavy equipment operator for a refrigerated warehouse and storage facility was driving a Raymond Model 8410 Pallet Jack (SN: 841-13-13344). The employee was driving through the doorway leading to aisle 60 from the alpha (A) dock. As the employee went to go through the door he slowed down and was honking the horn in accordance with his training. As the employee was traveling west through the door, a coworker was traveling east from aisle 60. The employee noticed the coworker as he was turning into the doorway causing him to swerve to the right to avoid a collision. In doing so, the employee drove the pallet jack through a puddle of water, which the pallet jack's wheels are not equipped to handle. This caused the employee to lose control of the pallet jack. The employee attempted a soft stop of the pallet jack, and when that failed, he leapt from the pallet jack to perceived safety. As he went to leap, his ankle contacted the barrier pole to the right of the door. The bumper of the pallet jack then connected with the employee's foot smashing it into the pole. The employee was hospitalized to treat a fractured ankle, tibia and fibula.

Keywords: Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Building, Caught Between, Door, Driving, Equipment Operator, Fibula, Foot, Fracture, Housekeeping, Industrial Truck, Jump From Moving Equip, Jumping, Leg, Lost Control, Material Handling, Motor Vehicle, PIV, Pallet Jack, Powered Industrial Vehicle, Struck Against, Support Posts, Tibia, Warehouse, Warehouse Aisle, Work Surface