Caesarstone USA, Inc.: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Mar 10, 2020: Employee's foot, leg is run over by forklift and fractures a

At 2:55 p.m. on March 10, 2020, an employee was helping a coworker load up slabs of quartz for distribution onto company flatbeds. The employee was spotting the forklift and slab of quartz, while a coworker was operating an internal combustion engine forklift manufactured by Komatsu Forklift U.S.A, Inc. with a model number of F045T-8 and a serial number of 131667A. The employee was standing within the crushing hazard area in the front right of the forklift between the slab of quartz and the forklift, when his left leg and foot were run over by the right front wheel of the forklift. The employee suffered a broken left distal fibular bone in two different locations. The employee was taken to Sutter Health Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he was admitted overnight for treatment with pain medication and placement of a cam boot for the fracture. The employer was cited for a serious accident-related violation of T8 CCR 3650(t)(5)&(12) for the failure to prevent employees from placing their bodies between parts of the truck where shear or crushing hazards exist and from preventing forklift operators from moving the vehicle until certain that all persons were in the clear.

Incident on Aug 29, 2019: Employee lacerates head in fall from flatbed trailer

At 3:25 p.m. on August 29, 2019, an employee was assisting during delivery of a quartz countertop to a warehouse that received and distributed stone countertops. The employee and his coworkers were in the concrete storage yard at the rear of the warehouse where they were removing the countertops from a 3.5 feet tall gooseneck flatbed trailer. A coworker was using a forklift with a clamp attachment to unload the countertops from the frame stands on the flatbed trailer, with a plastic wedge between individual slabs. Two slabs had already been removed, and the employee was standing on the flatbed trailer to secure the wedge and clamp to the last two slabs to be unloaded. The wedge loosened when the slabs were lifted, causing the employee to fall backward off the flatbed trailer and strike the back of his head against the concrete ground. The employee sustained a head laceration and was transported a medical center, where he was hospitalized. Due to preexisting medical conditions, the employee's hospital stay was prolonged until his release on September 7, 2019.