County Materials Corporation

An employee was exposed to carbon monoxide that was leaking from a kiln. The employee lost consciousness and was hospitalized.

At 10:00 a.m. on March 28, 2023, a side plate of a forklift lifting apparatus came loose at the bottom. An employee was reattaching the plate to the apparatus when the plate displaced and landed on his left foot, just beyond the steel safety toe. He suffered a partial amputation to the third toe.

Two employees were offloading 12-inch pipes from a truck at a construction site. They were operating the offloading mechanism when one employee's left little finger was pinched between one rolling pipe and the next. The finger was degloved and the fingertip was medically amputated.

An employee was making 12-inch by 32-inch concrete paver blocks. The employee was checking the blocks for cracks when the fingers cart cycled to collect a pallet of blocks from the stacker. The employee was caught between the fingers cart and the stacker and suffered fractures to the left wrist/arm, left side of the pelvis, and lower back.

An employee was placing a chuck and strand into a stressing jack arm. The chuck and strand fell into the ram. The employee grabbed the chuck and tried to reposition it. At the same time, another employee was moving the ram down and the injured employee's right little pinky and ring fingers were pinched between the chuck and stressing ram. As a result, the employee's right pinky fingertip was amputated and right ring finger was cut.

An employee was tossing a damaged toilet into a compactor. The toilet bounced off the compactor and lacerated the employee's right wrist, cutting an artery and tendon.

An employee was operating a hydraulic jack to bend a frame when the jack came loose and struck the employee. They were hospitalized for a spleen injury.

A truck had been towed into the shop with a flat tire and a blown airbag. An employee checked the tire for damage and was airing the tire. The employee was installing the valve core when the bead slipped off the rim. Air escaped, and the aluminum wheel struck the employee's head and face. The employee became unresponsive and was bleeding.

On December 14, 2023, at 8:40 p.m., three employees were inspecting milling machines for startup. A few of the sleeves on the mill drum needed to be changed out. The injured employee was trying to input a sleeve on the mill drum using a hammer. The hammer hit the edge of the drum, which caused a metal piece to splinter off and strike the employee's cheek just below the left eye. The metal splinter embedded in the back of their eye socket, resulting in pain, swelling, and bleeding that required hospitalization.

An employee was pushing a line of carts into a vestibule when the door cable snapped and struck his right ankle. The employee suffered a fracture that required surgery and hospitalization.

An employee was walking through the garage and stepped on a mechanic's creeper. His feet went out from under him and he fell, sustaining a fractured right femur.

An employee was exiting a loader and coming down the ladder. His hand slipped off the railing and he fell backward onto sandy ground, landing on his side. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured pelvis and a rotator cuff tear.

A concrete mixer truck driver was walking up the stairs of the slump rack. They fell from the slump rack platform and landed on the ground in the wash-out area. The employee sustained fractures to their left scapula and lower back vertebrae.

An employee backed their concrete truck into place to begin unloading it into a concrete pump unit. He exited the vehicle, and went to the rear to unload. When he began unloading, the truck rolled backward and pinned him against the pump unit. The employee sustained fractures to their pelvis, both femurs, both tibias and fibulas, and their left ankle.

A mechanic was changing out an air spring on a concrete mixer truck cab. The air spring was receiving higher air pressure than it was designed to use, because of a faulty level check valve. This increased pressure caused the air spring to burst. Its top portion separated and struck the employee's left forearm, causing a laceration and fracture. The employee was hospitalized, requiring 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.