Cal Poly Pomona: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on May 10, 1999: Employee injured in fall from ladder

At approximately 7:30 a.m. on May 10, 1999, an employee of California Polytechni c University Pomona was injured while working in the Meat Lab at the Agricultura l College. The employee was installing a new telephone cable for a ringing devic e in the rear room of the meat lab. The employee obtained a 12 ft rail ladder fr om the storage room, but did not inspect it prior to use. It was later determine d that the safety feet of the ladder had been removed. The employee placed the l adder against the wall, in front of swinging doors, and did not secure the ladde r to prevent it from slipping. The employee climbed up to the 8 ft level when th e bottom of the ladder began to slide out. The top of the ladder pushed against the swinging doors, causing the ladder to twist and the employee fell backwards. The employee landed on his feet, but then fell backwards. He extended his hands back to protect himself, but his hands and backside hit the concrete floor. He experienced pain in his back and both wrists. The employee was transported to Po mona Valley Hospital, where he was for four days for an acute compression fractu re of vertebras L1 and L2 and a fractured right wrist. The employee stated he ha d been an employee of California Polytechnic University Pomona for 21 years, and he had never received training in ladder safety.

Incident on Jun 12, 1997: Employee fractures skull in fall from pickup truck

At approximately 5:45 p.m. on June 12, 1997, Employee #1, a student worker at th e Polytechnic Institute's Department of Veterinary Medicine, was riding through a field on a pickup truck, throwing food to horses. She slipped and fell from th e truck, sustaining a basal skull fracture. Employee #1 was a student worker who received college credits and extra funds for assisting with the animals.