Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc.

An employee was on a ladder to adjust a faulty valve. As the employee descended the ladder, they fell from the third or fourth rung to the floor, resulting in a fractured spine and an abrasion to the back of their head.

At 9:00 AM, on 5/10/16, an employee and a coworker were preparing to replace a malfunctioning gauge board on an asphalt tank. They transferred contents from the malfunctioning tank to another tank and shut down the malfunctioning tank. Every energy source was off/locked out. Using an impact wrench, the employee began loosening/removing the bolts holding the manway cover on the tank. After he loosened several bolts, some hot liquid asphalt splashed out from behind the cover onto the concrete pad and onto his hands, arms, and legs. He suffered second and third degree burns to both arms, hands, and legs, requiring hospitalization and surgery.

An employee was drying and finishing vehicles when a vehicle door closed on their left middle fingertip and amputated it.

An employee was climbing down from a tractor trailer bed when they lost their footing and grabbed onto the roll-up door to stop the fall. The roll-up door then fell onto the employee's hand, resulting in a hand fracture that required surgery.

An employee was attempting to remove a tarp from a flatbed trailer when the trailer handle struck the employee in the chest, resulting in two broken ribs and a punctured lung.

An employee was near a backhoe while the operator was getting a broom. The broom handle struck the lever that actuates the swing of the backhoe bucket. The bucket then struck the injured employee, pinning him to the outrigger. The employee suffered crush injuries to the chest.

The injured employee was being trained on loading trucks in the load out bay. The injured employee and his supervisor climbed the stairs that run parallel to the truck and trailer, walked to the upper platform used for observation and sample taking, and saw that the lid of the grain trailer was closed. The employees began working to open the lid which appeared to be stuck due to cold weather. The injured employee pulled on one of the pivot arms that connect the lid to the main body of the trailer. As the lid began to open, the employee s right hand slipped down on the pivot arm and his index finger was caught between the pivot arm and the base of the pivot arm. The employee s right index finger was fractured and three nerves were severed. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was stopping traffic at a job site so a piece of equipment could be moved to another location when he was struck by a car. It sent him in the air and he landed on his back, resulting in hospitalization with five fractured ribs, a fractured forearm, and a liver injury.

A truck of asphalt binder was being unloaded. An employee was checking the transfer hose connection on the truck. The gasket on the hose blew out, causing the asphalt binder to shoot out and burn the employee's face, neck, and arms.

A truck driver was on a platform, pulling a tarp on an asphalt load in a six-wheel dump truck. He fell from the platform to the ground and suffered broken ribs.

An employee was using a cutting torch to heat up bolts that had seized up. The bolts caught on fire in a flash burn, and the employee suffered burns to the arms and elbows.

On May 15, 2025, an employee was cutting down steel mesh and debris that was protruding from a milled roadway. As the employee began to cut a piece of steel with an angle grinder, he steadied himself with his left hand and the tool contacted the top of his left wrist, resulting in a laceration that required hospitalization.

An employee was helping to move a 1,300-pound coil on a cart. The steel caster hit a crack in the concrete, the weld holding the caster onto the cart broke, and the coil and cart tipped over onto the employee. He was hospitalized with a laceration on his forehead and a pelvic fracture on his right side.

An employee was working in the food service warehouse when he experienced chest pain, difficulty breathing, and lost consciousness. The employee sustained carbon monoxide poisoning.

An employee was cutting a piece of metal rod with a metal cutting machine. His right middle finger became caught between the rod and the machine's table. The employee's fingertip was partially amputated.

An employee was working at her desk. She went to stand up and fell to the floor beside the desk. The employee sustained a hip displacement and required surgery.

An employee was processing wood boards at a chop saw when the saw malfunctioned and the blade cut her left hand and fingers. She was hospitalized and her little finger was surgically amputated.