Exposure to environmental heat · Heat exhaustion, prostration
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Averitt Express, Inc., 1103 Alt Hwy 98 , HOLIDAY, FLORIDA 34691
on — Heat exhaustion, prostration, affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
An employee was unloading inventory from the trailer of a commercial truck when he became weak and dizzy. The employee was hospitalized for observation and treated for heat exhaustion.
An employee was lifting an 80-pound propane tank onto a forklift when he fell, resulting in a right femur fracture that required hospitalization and surgery.
On April 8, 2022, an employee was trying to stabilize freight (individually boxed glass panels) that was lined up from sidewall to sidewall inside a trailer. The freight started to lean and the employee tried to catch it. The employee lost his balance due to the weight (660 lbs.) of the freight and hit his head on the side of the trailer, sustaining compression of the cervical spine and fractured vertebrae that required surgery.
A driver was using a pallet jack to move a pallet to the back of a trailer when a slat broke on the pallet and caused the pallet jack to tilt. The driver fell off the back of the trailer about 4 feet to the pavement. The driver sustained an open fracture to the right elbow that required hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was driving a forklift inside a box truck. While adjusting the load, the employee's leg was pinned by the forklift, resulting in a leg fracture.
An employee was performing finishing work on a residential driveway when they began to experience body cramps and were hospitalized for heat stress and dehydration.
An agent was participating in SWAT team selection and was performing various physical fitness skills including running and exercise intervals. The agent experienced dehydration and a muscular injury that required hospitalization.
On September 26, 2023, an employee was delivering packages when he began to feel ill with a pain in his side. He was hospitalized for heat exhaustion and dehydration.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 484121)
An employee fell while exiting a trailer. The employee landed on their left side on the pavement, suffering multiple broken ribs on the left side. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was hooking up a set of 28-foot trailers, attaching a converter dolly to the lead trailer's pintle hook. He backed up the lead trailer and parked it a foot from the converter dolly, then lifted the converter dolly and rolled it to the lead trailer to set it onto the hook. The converter dolly kicked up, and the employee's left hand was caught between it and the trailer. He suffered a severe laceration to the palm between the ring finger and middle finger.
An employee was cleaning the windshield of his truck. When he stepped down from the truck, he lost balance and reached to catch himself using the side mirror. The impact fractured his left wrist. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was standing on the DOT bumper on the back of a standard 53-foot trailer. The employee lost his footing and his grip on the handle bar, and fell approximately 42 inches to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured left hip/femur.
A driver was making a delivery. As he was climbing onto his trailer to get boxes, the strap he was using to pull himself up broke. He fell from the back of the trailer to the ground, landing on his right leg and breaking his femur.
An employee was helping a coworker transport a tall palm tree with a mini skid steer. The employee was severely shocked by a high-voltage electrical wire above the ground.
An employee was retrieving a Christmas tree from a shelf using a ladder. He missed a step and fell to the concrete floor. He sustained injury to his head and wrist.
An employee was operating an agricultural tractor during sugarcane harvesting. The employee sustained a lumbar sprain due to vibration or motion from the tractor.
An employee was moving a 3-ton condensing unit, strapped down on a dolly, out of a garage. The strap broke, causing the employee to fall backward onto the brick pavered driveway. The employee suffered injury to a spinal ligament in the neck.