Fall or jump curtailed by personal fall arrest system · Strains
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at GEV Wind Power US, LLC, 6543 E US Hwy180, SNYDER, TEXAS 79549
on — Strains, affecting the nonclassifiable.
Final narrative
An employee was climbing a permanent ladder inside a wind turbine. The employee was wearing a fall harness attached to a climb assist mechanism. The employee's foot became tangled and he slipped off the ladder falling 6 inches. The injured employee was hospitalized for a muscle strain.
An employee was walking along a trench inspecting the trench box in the excavation when he tripped and fell toward the trench. As the employee was falling head-first into the trench, he attempted to get a hold of the fall protection cable. The cable then looped around his left hand and the employee fell approximately 8 feet into the trench before the fall protection engaged. The employee suffered amputations of his left index, middle, ring, and little fingers.
A ranger was performing back-country patrol duties while hiking. As they were climbing a technical rock patch, a rock handhold broke, causing the employee to fall approximately 15 feet before their belay engaged. The employee contacted a rock, resulting in a fracture to the right ilium as well as a subcutaneous hematoma to the right gluteal region.
Employees were erecting structural steel. The injured employee was sitting on a 12" wide horizontal member and lining up an I-beam brace as it was suspended by an overhead crane. He leaned left to push the end of the brace. The end of the suspended brace swung away from him, causing him to lose balance and fall 8 feet. His personal fall arrest system arrested his fall, but he swung into a piece of duct work during the fall that resulted in a concussion.
On September 12, 2022, an employee was on a metal roof, installing a standing seam and insulation. He lost his balance and fell toward the third floor slab, which was 10 feet from the roof. His fall protection caught him and left him suspended about 2 to 4 feet from the slab. He suffered a brain bleed and a spinal fracture in his lower back. He was hospitalized.
An employee was working from a bucket lift, removing a tree in sections. He lost his balance while pushing on a section and fell. His fall protection caught him and he swung into a tree, suffering an injury that caused head, neck, and leg pain, as well as loss of consciousness while he was at the hospital.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 221115)
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee was ascending the wind tower when their right arm was caught between the lift and the ladder. The employee sustained a right elbow injury and was hospitalized.
On 3/27/2025, at 9:57 AM, an employee was performing switching work including installing electrical grounds when an arc flash occurred. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was worn at the time, including an arc flash hood, shirt, and pants. The employee suffered burns and was hospitalized.
An employee was cleaning dirt out of a contactor using a hand-held blower and contact cleaner. An arc flash occurred, and the employee sustained burns to the right side of their face and both hands.
On February 16, 2025, an employee was descending a ladder on the third deck after completing rigging at a wind farm. Their left foot slipped on the penultimate rung and their leg became wedged between the ladder rungs and a horizontal bracket. The employee then landed on the second deck resting platform, resulting in a leg fracture above the ankle.
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.