Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Texas Electronic Systems Specialists, Inc., 3423 IH-35, COTULLA, TEXAS 78014
on — Cuts, lacerations, affecting the lower leg(s).
Final narrative
An employee drove a high lift single operator cherry picker from the roadway onto the soft earth of a drainage ditch to avoid oncoming traffic. The uneven surface caused the employee to be thrown around the basket. The employee was wearing a safety harness and was not ejected, but received a severe laceration on his lower leg from contact with the basket guardrails.
An employee was driving an aerial lift over a cable ramp. The employee backed up the aerial lift to cross over the cable ramp. During this process, the lift and basket bounced, causing the employee to bounce and land on his right foot, resulting in a fracture to his right leg.
An employee was operating a tractor in a potato field to pack down the soil. As the tractor tires drove over uneven soil, the tractor suspension moved abruptly, causing the enclosed operator seat compartment to also move. The employee was ejected from the seat and struck their head, arm and ribs inside the tractor compartment. The employee sustained a head and arm laceration as well as rib fractures.
An employee was operating an aerial lift when it impacted a berm on the ground. The employee lost balance and struck his abdomen against the guardrail system on the aerial lift, then fell backward and struck his head against the guardrail. The employee sustained a punctured spleen.
An employee was operating a skid steer with dirt in the bucket. The skid steer drove over uneven ground, causing the bucket to tilt forward and hit the ground. As a result, the employee's head struck the bar on the front top part of the cab. The employee sustained a compression injury to the neck and upper back that included two injured vertebral discs that required surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 922160)
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.
Employees were troubleshooting dual duct detectors in a room. The injured employee was on the second rung from the top of a forward-facing 12-foot A-frame ladder. He was reinstalling the duct detector in the furthest duct from him (18 inches). When he pushed the duct detector into the existing holes, the duct broke free and fell, striking his back and shoulders. He was knocked forward over the ladder and fell to the floor. The employee sustained a head injury.
An employee was descending an 8-foot A-frame ladder when he tripped over the fourth step/rung and fell, contacting the floor and a sprinkler pipe that was set on the ground. The employee sustained fractures to his left arm.
An employee working as a contracted firefighter was using a bulldozer to push back an active fire line when they became entrapped in flames, resulting in first- and second-degree burns.
An employee was engaging in daily physical training in preparation for fire season as a smokejumper. The employee sustained swelling and stiffness in their arms and was hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.