Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Training / Qualification; Situational Awareness; Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Procedure; Company Policy; Chart Or Publication; Human Factors
Upon arriving at the plane we were told we had only one position that would be loaded and taken to our destination. It was already onboard and I took this opportunity to walk into the back and take a look at the cargo. It was a pallet of lithium metal batteries all clearly marked indicating not to carry if damaged. The (approx) 2 square foot boxes were all stacked on a wooden pallet which was placed on a stack of metal airplane pallets. I noticed that the boxes were overhanging the wooden pallet by about 5 inches and were being warped around the edge from all the weight. Upon closer examination one box had actually been smashed up under the corner where you could actually put your hand up into the box about 3 or 4 inches deep. This was all I needed to see and I had the pallet removed. The boxes were obviously under stress from the fact they were hanging over the wooden pallet and being warped from all the weight. I find it hard to believe with known dangers of lithium batteries they can be loaded in such a sloppy manner. These boxes in my mind were without a doubt loaded without any special attention to their danger.  The loader immediately agreed with my concerns and removed the pallet.
A B767 Captain discovered damaged lithium ion batteries on stacked cargo pallets and had them removed because of the fire damage.