Injured by slipping or swinging object held by injured worker · Cuts, lacerations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Merrill Iron & Steel, Inc., 900 Alderson St., SCHOFIELD, WISCONSIN 54476
on — Cuts, lacerations, affecting the hand(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
On October 5, 2016, an employee was using a 7-inch electric grinder when it kicked back and severely lacerated the back of his left hand.
An employee was transferring paint from a high-pressure spray gun into a cup for touch-ups. While spraying paint from the spray gun, the paint pierced his skin and was injected into his left ring finger. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery to remove the paint from his finger.
An employee was removing the gear box from an out-of-service weld manipulator in a storage area. The machine was secured so the employee only had to work with the weight of the chain and machine, which weighed approximately 30 pounds. He undid the master link in order to separate the chain and lost his grip on the chain with his right hand while his left hand was removing the chain from the sprocket. The tip of his left middle finger became pinched between the chain and the sprocket, resulting in a fingertip amputation at the first knuckle.
An employee was loading a truss into a blasting rack. The employee unhooked the rigging from the top cord and placed the chains over the truss. The employee then started raising the hoist while walking. The hoist did not fully clear the rigging, and the chains snagged on one of the angles. The employee was struck by the truss. The employee sustained a laceration to the top of their head, a broken right ankle, a back fracture, and broken ribs. The employee was hospitalized.
On August 11, 2023, an employee removed rigging from a steel beam that had been attached to an overhead crane. The employee was moving the crane when the rigging caught the beam and tipped it over, striking the employee. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to the spine, sternum, and ankle.
An employee was on the CNC machine table cutting an object when they tripped over the torch hose and fell off the table to the ground. The employee sustained a left femur fracture.
An employee was using a saw to cut a piece of concrete when the piece gave way and pushed the saw into the employee's leg. The employee's leg was lacerated, requiring stitches and hospitalization.
An employee was grinding some hardfacing on a bulldozer blade when the 9-inch grinder kicked back and lacerated his left leg above the knee. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was operating a rotating tool to place thread protectors on the end of pipe. Her left hand was on the rotating part of the tool when the tool engaged, resulting in a left forearm fracture and a thumb laceration.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 332312)
On October 21, 2025, an employee was operating a saw when a pneumatic clamp caught their right middle finger. The employee suffered a partial amputation to the finger.
An employee completed an end cut on a metal shim and started transferring the metal shim from the saw conveyor to two saw horses in the area. The employee set one end of the shim (7 feet long x 8 inches wide, weighing 218 pounds) on one of the saw horses, then slid the other end onto the other saw horse and the shim fell from the first saw horse. The employee's left index fingertip was pinched between the saw horse and the shim, resulting in a skin avulsion. The fingertip was amputated later.
An employee was using a crane to move a 44-foot, 3,343-pound I-beam. As the beam was moving west, it straightened out (north to south), beginning to swing south toward the northwest corner of a building. The crane then sent the beam southward, directly toward the corner of the building. The beam caught the tips of the employee's left index, middle, and ring fingers against the building. The last joints of the middle and ring fingers were amputated, and the last joint of the index finger was partially crushed.
An employee was moving steel beams with an overhead crane when the bundle struck a bollard and became unstable. As the employee reached to stop the material from shifting, his thumb was pinched in-between the beams, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was rigging a steel joist to be lifted by a crane. The joist fell and pinned the employee against the concrete ground. The employee sustained fractures to multiple ribs, his right arm, right tibia, and an open fracture to his right ankle, as well as a dislocated right hip.
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.
An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.