Struck, caught, or crushed in other collapsing structure or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at GERKE EXCAVATING, INCORPORATED, 23 Harrison St, BLACK RIVER FALLS, WISCONSIN 54615
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
Employee received a crushing injury to the right-hand thumb when the collapsible railing on a crusher plant's catwalk vibrated loose and pinned his thumb between the railing and catwalk. The thumb was partially severed and the bone broke. His thumb was later amputated at Rochester Mayo Clinic because blood flow to the thumb could not be re-established.
A mixer truck driver was delivering a load of concrete to a jobsite. The driver was operating the controls outside of his truck when a 6x10-foot fascia wall gave way. One of the concrete fascia panels struck the driver's right calf resulting in amputation of the leg below the knee.
An employee was receiving a 32-by-8 panel wall that weighed 3,500 pounds. As the crane was going up, the cable of one of the clanks became caught on the panel wall. The panel wall collapsed and struck the employee's right leg, resulting in right leg fractures and amputation below the knee.
An employee was moving conveyors in a warehouse to another location using rolling casters. The legs became detached from the bottom of the conveyor, and the employee's right index finger was caught in the conveyor pinch point, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was directing trucks as they entered and left a highway work zone. A vehicle struck them, resulting in multiple fractures and other injuries. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was assisting the crew with patching and restoring a roadway after the installation of a sewer line. He was helping place and level the blacktop/backfill material over the trench area to bring the road surface back to proper grade. The employee was walking between a forward-moving dump truck and a dirt pile when his right foot was run over by the truck s wheel, causing him to fall. The employee sustained injury to his foot.
An employee was operating a skid steer with a bucket attachment at a demolition site. While driving it to the rear of the property to park it, the employee came into contact with a live electrical transformer unit that was located outside of the facility. The employee sustained electrical burns on his hands extending up to his elbows and a fractured ankle.
An employee was installing a door on a semi-trailer. They were using a forklift to lift the door to the height of the trailer when the door became jammed between the forklift mast and the hinge on the trailer. When the employee went to dislodge the door from the mast, the door fell and crushed their foot. Their big toe was amputated. The employee was hospitalized and their big toe was surgically reattached. The employee's foot and other toes also required surgery.
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.
An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.