Other fall to lower level 11 to 15 feet · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at KENNY CONSTRUCTION CO., Mile Marker 3.25 on Union Pacific North Line, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60614
on — Fractures, affecting the wrist(s).
Final narrative
On October 23, 2017, employees were cutting cross frames and a girder as part of the demolition process for a bridge. While torch cutting the girder, one employee connected his personal fall arrest system to a beam clamp that was connected to the tail section of the existing girder. The tail section was supposed to remain in place when the rest of the girder was dropped. After the employees finished cutting the girder, the tail section fell from its bearing and pulled the employee approximately 13 feet to the ground. He suffered a broken wrist and back injury.
The employee was on top of a rail car to level the grain that was deposited into the car when they fell 13-15 feet to the ground. The employee sustained a right leg fracture.
An employee was on an extension ladder installing a satellite dish on a roof when they fell approximately 12-15 feet to the ground. The employee sustained fractures.
An employee was setting a 5-foot pry bar into a precast concrete slab and stood on the end of the pry bar to move the slab into place. The pry bar slipped out causing the employee to fall backward 15.5 feet to the dirt ground. The employee was hospitalized with a broken leg.
An employee was on a step ladder to measure and mark a crane rail for modification. The employee fell approximately 12 to 15 feet to the ground, resulting in a fractured right hip.
An employee was on a trailer securing a load of logs when they fell approximately 9-12 feet to the ground. The employee sustained brain hemorrhaging and lacerations to the thigh and above the eye. The employee was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 237310)
An employee was operating a battery-powered broom to clean demolition debris off the top of the outermost bridge girder. The girder was approximately 11 feet above the demolition scaffold below. The employee fell approximately 8 feet to wind bracing below. The employee was hospitalized with a pelvis/tailbone fracture. Fall protection was in place at the time.
An employee was cleaning out an inlet pipe in a stormwater structure. The employee stepped back, fell into the pipe, and landed on concrete 13 feet below, at the bottom of the structure. He suffered a broken back.
A concrete batch plant operator was assisting with clearing spoil piles using a skid steer. The skid steer backed into a stationary screen plant. The employee's left little finger was crushed between the controls of the skid steer and the screen plant, resulting in a fracture and laceration. The employee's finger was surgically amputated.
An employee was operating a roller and paving a small pathway next to a pavilion. The ground was on a slight pitch, causing him to reach up toward the roll cage to stabilize himself. His right fifth finger was pinched between the roll cage and the rafter of the pavilion. The employee sustained a partial degloving injury with partial traumatic amputation.
An employee was working with paving equipment and heard a noise on the opposite side of the machine he was working on. When the machine stopped, the employee went to the opposite side and crouched down to investigate the noise. A mini track loader backed up and drove over the employee's leg. The employee sustained fractures to their lower leg, ankle, and foot.
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.