Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Grafton Ready Mix, 2509 N. Ridge Rd. , LORAIN, OHIO 44055
on — Puncture wounds, except gunshot wounds, affecting the upper arm(s).
Final narrative
On or about June 8, 2016, an employee was chipping concrete inside a mixing drum using a pneumatic air chisel. The chisel malfunctioned, and the locking collar exploded, sending a piece of shrapnel into the employee's left bicep. The employee was hospitalized with a penetrative wound.
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.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 327320)
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.
An employee was working to deliver mail to an apartment building. She was waiting for a customer to move, to obtain clearance to the mailboxes. The door swung inward and closed on her right little finger. The top half of her finger was surgically amputated.
An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.
On October 30, 2025, an employee was working to adjust a stackable metal shipping container. As the container dropped into place, it caught the employee's hands in an area between the upper and lower cross-members. The employee suffered a laceration to the left ring finger that required stitches, bruising to the right ring finger, and fractures to the right middle finger that necessitated medical amputation of the fingertip.
An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.
An employee was setting up communication equipment for a meeting. They were walking and tripped over a speaker on the ground. The employee sustained a leg injury.