Struck by falling object or equipment, unspecified · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at HEETER CONSTRUCTION INC., Bluestone Dam, HINTON, WEST VIRGINIA 25951
on — Fractures, affecting the lower leg(s).
Final narrative
On January 21, 2015, a tag line became entangled around an A-frame metal beam weighing approximately 1400 lb., causing the beam to fall against the leg(s) of a worker. The worker suffered fractures of the right lower leg and was hospitalized.
On March 20, 2015, at approximately 11:00 p.m., an employee was using a core drill to remove anchors from the face of the Bluestone Dam in Hinton, West Virginia. A 1/4" to 3/8" rope became entangled in the 3" core bit. The employee's left arm was pulled into the rotating bit, which resulted in fractures of the radius and ulna.
An employee was unloading 30-foot 2-inch barrels from a pan holding about 20 barrels. The barrels tipped over, striking and breaking both of the employee's lower legs.
An employee was in a sandblasting area, preparing the surface of a plate heat exchanger frame for painting. The frame fell on the employee, who suffered fractures to vertebrae, the neck, pelvis, and rib cage; and punctured lungs.
An employee was fixing a broken purlin at a worksite when they fell from the framing to the concrete floor approximately 19 feet below. The employee sustained brain bleeding and fractures to their face, vertebrae, and wrists.
Employees were removing scaffolding that was used to repair an ion exchange tank. The line was undergoing the regen process when a piece of scaffold struck a PVC pipe that transported hydrochloric acid (HCl). The injured employee was placing material inside a scaffold rack when he was sprayed in the face with HCl and sustained chemical burns to his eyes, face, chest, right arm, and left leg.
An employee was moving a ramming machine to a staging area. While using the controls on the side of the machine, there was a sudden heavy rainfall causing the equipment to slide. The ramming machine tipped over and caught the employee against the ground. The employee sustained a fracture to the right side of their pelvis and was hospitalized.
The injured employee was training a new employee on a dough machine. She went to show where the batter comes from and her right index fingertip was cut. The employee sustained an amputation to the fingertip. The machine was not guarded at the time of the incident.
An employee was operating a roller machine on a dirt slope when the machine hit a bump and fell onto it's side. While trying to get free of the falling machine, the employee's legs were pinned by the top bar of the cage. The employee was hospitalized and his left leg was amputated. He also sustained fractures to a hand and finger.
An employee was conducting routine maintenance on a mixer. New lid pins had been installed, and the employee was rotating by hand to ensure they had been installed correctly. The employee's left middle finger was caught between the lid and top of a pin. The momentum from the mixer continued, causing a crushing injury to the finger. The employee underwent a medical amputation from the top knuckle to the tip of the finger.
An employee was climbing down a 15-foot multipurpose ladder. The employee fell about 8 feet, landing on the concrete floor and the ladder itself. The employee suffered several injuries, all on the right side: broken ribs, a broken sternum, a broken temporal bone, broken shoulder, multiple fractures to the cheekbone, and a brain bleed.
An employee was rolling up the landing gear on his trailer when the handle began to unwind and struck his face, fracturing his jaw. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.