PORTS AMERICA

An employee was opening the door of a container. His finger got caught between the container doors, resulting in a fingertip amputation.

An employee was directing traffic on a deck. After giving the driver of a cargo van directions, the employee then turned his back to the vehicle and walked backward as it moved forward. The rear of the chassis struck the employee and knocked him to the ground, and he was then run over by the rear tires. The employee suffered broken bones, along with multiple other injuries.

An employee was walking across a ramp after discharging a vessel when they fell approximately 5 feet to the ground below, resulting in fractured ribs.

An employee was standing near a parked flatbed truck when the truck was bumped forward, pinning the employee's left knee between the front cage bar of the truck and the rear counterweight of a parked forklift. The employee sustained a left knee injury.

An employee was standing between two flatbed trailers. He ducked under one of them to avoid falling machinery, and his left hand was caught between the machinery and the trailer. He suffered amputations to the left index, middle, and ring fingertips.

On 11/22/2023, at 8:35 AM, an employee was stepping onto a barge when they slipped on a wet surface and fell on their knee. The employee sustained a torn ligament in their knee requiring hospitalization and surgery.

After moving a barge lid, an employee was walking down the stairs on the barge when they slipped and fell approximately 15 to 20 feet, reuslting in a head injury.

An employee was using an excavator on a barge to scoop and remove fertilizer product stored in the cargo area. As the employee was transporting the skid-steer by chains and hoisting equipment from the dock to the barge, the employee fell approximately 10 feet off the skid-steer bucket to the cargo hold area below. The employee suffered a concussion.

Swingmen were performing discharge of an iron ore vessel. The discharge process consists of gathering remaining product into the center of the hold to facilitate removal by crane. At approximately 11:45 PM, a swingman was descending a ladder into a hold when he lost his footing and fell approximately 10-15 feet to the deck of the hold. The employee sustained fractures to their back and left leg.

An employee was on a bulk carrier ship. While removing lashing from wind turbine components, the employee lost balance and fell approximately 6 - 7 feet from a hatch to the deck of the ship. The employee was hospitalized with a head injury, and a fractured wrist, and required surgery.

While preparing to install a new spool piece for a vapor and spent sulfuric acid line, an employee was working to ensure there was no residual product or pressure in the line before removing the 6-inch hose. The valve was cracked, and some spent acid still in the line sprayed out. The employee was standing off to the side and at a distance, but was still contacted by the hot acid, resulting in corrosive and thermal burns to their upper torso and mid-thighs of both legs.

An employee was driving a utility tractor rig when it struck the rear trailer of another utility tractor rig, which was traveling in the opposite direction. The glancing impact caused damage to the cab, and he sustained a laceration on right side of his face, a cervical fracture, two fractured left ribs, and a pelvic fracture. The employee was hospitalized.

The injured employee was standing by the controls for the electric spud system on the barge, preparing to raise the spuds. Meanwhile, an excavator was moving a mat on the deck. As the excavator swung from port to starboard, it's counterweight struck the injured employee s shoulder, causing them to lose balance and fall against the spud controls. The employee sustained bruises and contusions to their right shoulder and chest.

An employee was standing on the outside edge of a hopper barge while watching a skid steer push ore for an excavator (with a clamshell bucket) to unload. The excavator was on a work barge. The bucket of the excavator struck the employee and caused a near-amputation of their right arm and fractures of the ulna and radius of the left arm. The right arm required surgery.

An employee was inspecting a conveyor to see why it was not running. The employee entered the the conveyor motor area, tripped on a piece of angle iron welded to the floor, and fell. The employee sustained a fractured orbital bone.

An employee was closing a gun locker in his automobile trunk when his left middle finger was partially amputated by the lid.

An employee was ascending a flight of stairs after exiting their vehicle in an adjacent employee parking lot. The employee stepped to the right to avoid another employee on the left who was descending the stairs. The employee lost their balance and fell on the stairs. They were hospitalized with a laceration/abrasion to their chin, a fractured left humerus, and bruising to their left knee.

A mail handler was moving BMCs on the loading dock when they fell from the loading dock to the concrete ground below. The employee was hospitalized with head trauma.

An employee was on an A-frame ladder while preforming demolition of a ceiling. A section of HVAC ductwork fell on the employee and knocked them to the ground approximately 12 feet below. The employee was hospitalized with a concussion and lacerations.

On the morning of July 24, 2025, an employee was conducting synthesis of a highly toxic experimental chemical (nerve agent) in a chemical fume hood. The operation was completed at approximately 11:30 AM. The employee was exposed to the chemical and began experiencing symptoms of illness/poisoning around 1:30 PM and was hospitalized.