Fall from collapsing structure or equipment 6 to 10 feet · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at LAPHAM HICKEY STEEL, 5500 WEST 73RD STREET, BEDFORD PARK, ILLINOIS 60638
on — Fractures, affecting the foot (feet) and ankle(s).
Final narrative
On January 7, 2016, at approximately 6:30 a.m., an employee was operating a man lift when a cable failed on the lift's guarded platform, causing the lift basket to fall over 8 feet to the ground below. The employee fell with the basket, breaking his left foot and ankle.
An employee was loading pallets onto a truck. The pallet hooks shifted and pinched the employee's finger between the pallet and the hook resulting in a partial amputation of the right middle fingertip.
On December 15, 2023, the injured employee was working from a ladder. A co-worker climbed the backside of the ladder and the ladder failed. The injured employee fell approximately 8 feet to the ground and sustained multiple fractures.
An employee was installing grout using a shovel when the precast hollow-core floor gave way, causing them to fall approximately 8-10 feet. The employee sustained a back fracture.
An employee was assisting with assembly of a two-level scaffold. The scaffold fell, causing the employee to fall 8 feet from the second level to the concrete surface below. The employee sustained fractures to the face, jaw, and both wrists.
An employee was repairing an egg collector when the platform collapsed and he fell 10 feet to the concrete floor. The employee sustained a fractured left leg.
An employee was descending a ladder when it collapsed, causing him to fall approximately 8 feet. The employee was hospitalized with a compound fracture to his left leg and a left wrist fracture.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 423510)
A load of steel angles was being lowered when the lifting chain hit the load, causing it to slide toward an employee. An angle slid and pinched the employee, catching both of their legs between the beams and an angle. The employee suffered two fractured legs.
An employee was on the deck of a trailer helping a customer unload tubes. The employee was working to place a cargo strap on the remaining tubes using a winch bar when it slipped off the tubing, causing him to lose his balance and fall headfirst onto the asphalt lot below. The employee suffered a contusion on his forehead, resulting in hospitalization.
An employee and a customer were unloading two rectangular tubes. The tubes were wrapped together. The plastic wrap was cut so that one tube could be picked up. As the employee was lifting the top tube, the other tube (still connected to the top tube) came down onto his hand and broke two of his fingers. He was hospitalized.
An employee was assisting as a forklift got pipe from a pipe rack. The employee was on one of the forklift's forks as it was raised to the top of the rack, a height of about 15 feet. He fell to the ground and suffered a dislocated and fractured right elbow.
On September 23, 2025, at approximately 7:43 p.m., an employee was using a knife to cut poly banding from a metal coil. The knife slipped, causing a laceration to the inside of their left arm at the elbow joint. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery to repair a damaged vein.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.