Fall through surface or existing opening, unspecified · Fractures and other injuries, n.e.c.
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Mueller Lumber Company, 25925 350th Avenue, PUKWANA, SOUTH DAKOTA 57370
on — Fractures and other injuries, n.e.c., affecting the multiple body parts, n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was moving 2x4's into a single-family home under construction when he fell into a floor hole in the middle of the floor, breaking ribs, puncturing a lung, and fracturing neck vertebrae. The floor hole was unguarded at the time of the incident.
HospitalizedMultiple body parts, n.e.c.Existing floor opening
An employee was unloading garage doors from a delivery truck. As he was lifting some panels, the banding that held them together broke and he lost his balance. The pallet broke with the shifting weight. The employee slipped off the edge of the truck and fell, landing on his left side on the frozen ground 5-6 feet below. He suffered a torn spleen and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was power washing a metal tank from an elevated platform. They fell through a gap between the platform and the tank. The employee landed on the ground and sustained fractures to their ankles and feet.
An employee was installing a metal roof when he stepped on a skylight. The employee fell through the skylight to the ground, resulting in head and shoulder fractures.
An employee was replacing an HVAC unit in a residential home. While he was in the attic space above the garage, the wood he was walking on broke, causing the employee to fall through the sheetrock to the concrete floor below. The employee bumped his head and sustained a shoulder injury as well as a broken ankle.
An employee was putting a tarp on a water tank while standing on a trailer. She lost her footing and fell through the trailer bed, striking the corner of the trailer bed. The employee sustained internal bleeding.
An employee was repairing a sub-floor in a residential house that had water and fire damage. The employee fell through the sub-floor and landed in the basement, resulting in spinal fractures that required hospitalization.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 444110)
The injured employee was walking through the warehouse. Another associate was driving a forklift with a pallet of large format tile (slabs) when the slabs began to tip. The injured employee ran over to stop the slabs from falling, but the slabs fell on his lower left leg/foot. The employee sustained fractures in his lower leg and foot. He was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was doing a cutback on a piece of lumber using a chop saw. The saw hit a knot, the piece of lumber buckled, then kicked back and broke the kickback guard. The board was then pulled back into the blade, which lacerated the employee's left index and middle fingers.
On October 16, 2025, an employee was entering a parking lot after completing their work shift when they were struck by a vehicle being operated by a customer. The employee fell backward from the impact and the back of their head struck the asphalt. The employee was hospitalized due to brain bleed and a skull fracture.
On September 24, 2025, an employee was using a sledgehammer to straighten the forks on a forklift when a piece of metal broke off the fork and became lodged in the employee's leg. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.