Caught between rolling powered vehicle and other object · Cuts, lacerations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Kohler Co., N7650 Lake Shore Drive , SHEBOYGAN, WISCONSIN 53083
on — Cuts, lacerations, affecting the hand(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was operating an electric pallet jack to move a semi-assembled motor mounted on a frame chassis. The employee was walking backwards with the pallet jack in front when his right thumb was caught between the steering control of the pallet jack and the storage rack resulting in blunt force trauma and a deep tissue laceration.
An employee walked to the truck dock to access the back of his freight truck when his foot caught the edge of a pallet with a battery on it, causing him to trip and fall across the battery on the pallet. The employee suffered five broken ribs.
An employee was moving packed ware from the end of a conveyor to a pallet using a hoist. As the employee raised the hoist, her left index finger became pinched on the lifting device, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was installing a radiator on a generator. A part fell and struck the employee on the head and left shoulder. The employee suffered head trauma.
An employee was vacuuming above a metal lab. The employee tripped and fell through a guardrail opening, landing 8-10 feet below and suffering possible fractures to the face, wrists, knees, and arms.
On December 13, 2023, an employee was operating a forklift. When they stepped off the forklift, it crushed their left foot between the lift and a racking system. The employee suffered a foot fracture that required hospitalization.
An employee was maneuvering a motorized pallet jack while standing in front of it. He became pinned between the pallet jack and a steel rack cross-beam, resulting in a contusion to his chest/back and a fractured rib.
An employee was stacking empty drums into a trailer. The employee then exited the trailer, using the forks of a forklift as a step. The forklift's parking brake failed, causing the forklift to move forward and pin the employee's right leg between the forklift and the trailer. The employee's right lower leg was crushed, resulting in a fracture and a laceration.
An employee had been spraying weeds behind a school. As he was leaving the field, the employee drove his truck up to the gate, got out, and opened the gate. The truck rolled forward and pinned him against the fence/gate. The gate then gave way and opened from the force of the truck. The employee's left index fingertip got caught in the fence/gate and was amputated.
An employee was using a walk-behind tugger to pull a grinder. The employee's left little finger was pinched between the handle of the tugger and the framework of a staircase. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 335312)
An employee was cleaning a machine and bleeding its lines. After the gauge read 0, the employee removed the metal lid covering a filter. The lid popped off and struck the employee in the face, causing a broken nose, a broken jaw, and lacerations.
An employee was troubleshooting a variable frequency drive (VFD). There was an electrical discharge. The employee experienced an electrical shock of approximately 480 volts and sustained second- and third-degree burns on their right hand, wrist, forearm, and elbow.
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.