Inhalation of harmful substance-single episode · Other respiratory system symptoms-toxic, noxious, or allergenic effect
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Mercy Health, 100 Medical Center Dr., SPRINGFIELD, OHIO 45504
on — Other respiratory system symptoms-toxic, noxious, or allergenic effect, affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
An employee was processing scopes in endoscopy. The cycle on the Steris machine finished and all safety checks and indicators completed and passed. The employee opened the lid to remove the scope and noticed some fumes (peracetic acid) coming from the machine. The employee had a burning sensation in the throat and lungs. Other employees assisted the employee out of the room into fresh air. The employee took a break and returned to work, but was having difficulty breathing. She was admitted to the hospital for treatment.
An employee was walking up a carpeted ramp after clocking in for her shift when she tripped and fell to the ground, resulting in a fractured femur that required hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was on the phone with his supervisor when a patient walked up and punched him. The employee was knocked to the floor and the patient kicked him multiple times causing injuries to his head, left cheek, left eye, mouth, and right hand. The employee sustained a traumatic brain injury/concussion and a left periorbital edema.
An employee was descending a ladder after installing the sliding rail for a pocket door. His right foot twisted and he fell backward from the last rung and struck his back on the corner of a counter. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to three of the ribs on his left side.
An employee slipped on ice while checking the pressure on oxygen tanks. The employee fell, struck their head, and suffered an acute subarachnoid hemorrhage.
An employee was passing through a building when she suffered an allergic reaction to a cinnamon air freshener. The employee began to feel dizzy and ill, ultimately becoming unresponsive. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee wearing a blasting hood was preparing to blast inside a tank. The line that supplies the hood with breathing air was plugged into an argon line. The employee breathed the argon gas and fell. The employee was hospitalized for argon poisoning.
An employee was preparing a pump for maintenance. When the employee removed a cover, chemicals were released into the air. The employee was exposed to hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan and was hospitalized.
An employee slipped while descending in a stairwell, fell, and suffered multiple contusions/bruises to the head, neck, shoulders, knees, and back. She was hospitalized.
A security employee was responding to an urgent call from staff regarding a violent patient. The employee tripped and fell on the floor outside of the stairwell. The employee sustained a closed head injury, contusion of the cerebrum without loss of consciousness, and a closed fracture of the distal end of the right radius.
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.