National Park Service

An employee was preparing to conduct maintenance on a riding lawn mower and lifted the mower deck upward to its vertical position with assistance from another employee. A third employee pulled a locking pin, causing the front wheel mount to move forward into the cab. The cab entrance hand hold crushed the little fingers on the injured employee's hands. The employee was hospitalized and required surgical amputation of the right little finger to the second joint, as well as debriding and stitches to the left little finger.

An employee was riding on a stand-up blower to clean leaves and other objects from sidewalks and roads. The blower hit a hole and then struck a tree. The employee's right little finger was crushed.

A ranger was performing back-country patrol duties while hiking. As they were climbing a technical rock patch, a rock handhold broke, causing the employee to fall approximately 15 feet before their belay engaged. The employee contacted a rock, resulting in a fracture to the right ilium as well as a subcutaneous hematoma to the right gluteal region.

An employee was walking near the elevator building when she slipped on ice and fell, hitting the back of her head on the pavement. The employee sustained a skull fracture, cerebral bleed, and temporarily lost consciousness.

An employee was leaving a building when she tripped and fell down a set of four or five stairs, striking her head on the concrete sidewalk below. She suffered a concussion and was hospitalized.

On November 9, 2023, an employee was removing plywood from the west face of a basement level buck hoist to prepare to dismantle one of the cabs. When the employee pulled on the plywood, it fell and pulled a rope that partially amputated the employee's thumb.

An employee was holding a rigging line and assisting in the removal of an old light pole from its base. When the load was lifted by a forklift, it shifted. The tag line lifted the employee off the ground and propelled him through the air. The employee landed on the ground and sustained back fractures.

An employee was performing maintenance on a bucket truck when his right hand became caught in some rope, causing amputations to three fingers down to the first knuckle.

An employee was conducting a fall rescue demonstration. A 165-pound demonstration dummy was released from a height, putting tension on the lanyard. The employee's left hand, little finger, and thumb were caught in the wire rope lanyard, resulting in a medical amputation of the left little finger as well as lacerations to the left thumb.

An employee was using a crank and cable to lower a light tower due to windy conditions. The light shaft became hung up and released the tension in the cable, which wrapped around the employee's left hand, resulting in amputations of three fingers.

After completing a fitness test, an employee experienced lower leg pain and an inability to walk. The employee was hospitalized for compartment syndrome in both legs.

An employee was cutting up a large tree that had blown down on a rocky ledge on a hill. He began cutting on the uphill side of the tree, but due to obstructions he had to move to the downhill side. The tree separated from its 7-foot root ball, which started sliding toward him. While attempting to get out of the way, he tripped and fell to the ground, striking his head on an unknown object. As the root ball continued to move toward the employee, he made it below the level of the rock ledge. The root ball rolled over when it reached the ledge and pinned the employee's lower leg, and broke his fibula. He also suffered scrapes and bruises from the fall.

An employee was walking on a trail in a national park and stepped onto an angled and flat slab of granite when her ankle rolled and her weight shifted, but she did not fall. She was hospitalized with a fractured tibia and fibula and a dislocated ankle.

An employee was offroad, looking for a lost hiker. The employee fell off a canyon rim edge and landed on rimrock 5 or 6 feet below, suffering a separated shoulder and a head injury that required stitches. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was preparing to conduct maintenance on a riding lawn mower and lifted the mower deck upward to its vertical position with assistance from another employee. A third employee pulled a locking pin, causing the front wheel mount to move forward into the cab. The cab entrance hand hold crushed the little fingers on the injured employee's hands. The employee was hospitalized and required surgical amputation of the right little finger to the second joint, as well as debriding and stitches to the left little finger.

An employee was fixing an issue with seed cleaning equipment when he slipped on the ladder he was on. He went to catch himself and his hand went into a moving belt and pulley on the cleaner. The employee sustained the amputation of his right middle and index fingertips just below the fingernails.

An employee was riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) to move a bison herd. He was riding up the side of a steep hill when the ATV struck a rock and rolled, ejecting the employee before rolling over him. The employee suffered broken vertebrae in his back that required hospitalization.

An employee was clearing out dirt from an underground pipe when he was bitten by a rattlesnake on his hand.

An employee was climbing in the spreader area to remove a pasta jam when his right little finger was cut by the rotary cut-off knife. The employee sustained a laceration and fracture, resulting in an amputation.

A smoke jumper parachuted out of a helicopter during a forest fire response, landed on steep rugged terrain, and suffered femur and rib fractures and a liver laceration. The employee was hospitalized.