Excavation or trenching cave-in · Crushing injuries
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Westar Energy, Inc., 17th and Fairlawn, TOPEKA, KANSAS 66601
on — Crushing injuries, affecting the whole body.
Final narrative
An employee went into a 15-feet-deep trench to test if the cables were energized when the trench collapsed. The employee was crushed by the dirt and was hospitalized.
An employee was climbing a pole. The employee was 10 feet up from ground level when the wooden pole broke. The pole fell on the employee's leg, fracturing it between the ankle and knee.
An employee was doing electrical work in a trench when one of the trench walls caved in. The employee was struck by the soil and sustained fractures to their ribs and pelvis.
An employee was kneeling in a 4-foot deep hole trying to fix a leak in the waterline. The sidewalls were wet and the dirt fell from behind the employee onto his left side and crushed him against the pipe. The employee was hospitalized for an injured liver.
Employees were checking a trench box for removal when the wall caved in, burying the employees. One employee was hospitalized for 8 rib fractures and a shoulder fracture. The other employee was also hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 221118)
An employee was operating a dump truck when the trailer door swung and pinched the employee's right middle fingertip underneath the nailbed, resulting in an amputation.
An employee was attaching a turnbuckle to an auger. The turnbuckle slipped and the employee's left thumb was pinched between the turnbuckle and the auger resulting in a partial amputation of left thumb.
An employee was working to remove a product blockage from a piece of equipment. The employee was struck by a metal bar near the deck of the pin mixer equipment and sustained blunt force trauma to the torso.
An employee was moving a rack onto a lower conveyor in the south heat treat area when their finger got caught between the part tray and the rollers, resulting in a fingertip fracture and amputation.
An employee was climbing a ladder to get on top of the breakroom. The ladder slipped, causing him to fall to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to his upper back, left foot, and ankle.
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.