A pallet supply facility in Antioch where a worker became injured and trapped under pallets during a forklift incident earlier this week has over 20 prior federal safety violations, records show.
The Antioch Fire Department and Antioch Police Department responded around 11:05 a.m. Tuesday to Ash Pallet Management, 61 McMillen Road in Antioch, for a report of an injured person.
Antioch Fire Chief Jon Cokefair said approximately 12 feet of stacked pallets were being moved by a forklift truck.
The pallets suddenly toppled over from the forklift and fell onto an employee inside the facility, Cokefair said.
The victim was extracted from the pallets by other employees and fire crews.
A LifeNet medical helicopter was requested to land nearby as it was initially unclear how long extrication would take, Cokefair said.
The nearest medical helicopter was unavailable and the next closest was too far away.
An ambulance transported the male employee to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
The victim’s extent of injuries was unknown but he was stabilized at the hospital.
Cokefair said the incident was reported to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Federal records show OSHA opened nine separate safety and health inspections into the company from 2014 to 2023.
Seven of the nine inspections resulted in OSHA making a finding that a violation or more than one violation was substantiated.
The seven substantiated investigations resulted in 24 citations being issued, records show.
In December 2022, OSHA fined the company over $65,000 for serious safety violations. The company ended up paying $32,000 to settle the violations.
The citations issued were for violations involving exits being blocked, lack of employee training, lack of developed procedures and machines without proper guarding.