Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1539447.015 - United States Postal Service

Inspection Information - Office: Toledo Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 7:00 a.m. on June 22, 2021, an employee working as a postal clerk noticed a coworker that had just backed into the loading dock area. The coworker attempted to line up the tailgate of her straight truck with a scissor lift. The scissor lift was intended to be used with a tractor trailer that had a side door. The coworker was able to get approximately one foot or less of the scissor lift onto the bumper at which time she realized it was not going to work for her needs. The coworker was unloading the mail to the tailgate and was putting it into the hampers on the ground when the employee decided to help the coworker. The employee rolled the first set of hampers into the facility before returning with the empty hampers and setting them on the raised scissor lift. The employee was working from the lift at which time the coworker handed her a small tote. The employee placed the tote on the ground and then stepped backwards. The employee stepped backwards into the air where there was nothing underneath her foot. The employee fell and hit her head and back. She was hospitalized to treat a concussion and spinal fractures.

Keywords: Back, Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Concrete Pavement, Concrete Surface, Concussion, Delivery Work, Dock, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Fracture, Head, Loading Dock, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Pavement, Postal Worker, Scissor lift, Spine, Unloading, Walking Backward, Work Surface, Wrong Equipment