Fall or jump curtailed by personal fall arrest system · Traumatic injuries and disorders, n.e.c.
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at International Fire Protection, Inc., Plant Chrsit, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA 32514
on — Traumatic injuries and disorders, n.e.c., affecting the arm(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was working from a walk board (placed on top of rafters), installing hangers for a sprinkler system inside a cooling tower. He was wearing a harness with a retractable lanyard at the time. As he was turning around to talk to his coworker, the walk board shifted and he fell about 6 to 8 feet, ultimately hanging by his harness about 40 feet above the base of the cooling tower. He was hospitalized with a laceration, soft tissue damage, and a blood clot to his left arm.
An employee was cleaning sludge out of a fire suppression system pipe using a pressure washer. They withdrew the pressure washing wand from inside the pipe and it projected water onto their left hand, resulting in a laceration on the palm between the middle and ring fingers.
A forklift came around a corner and ran over an employee who was hydrotesting fire hoses. The employee suffered a collapsed lung, broken ribs, a possible broken arm, and a possible spine fracture. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was inspecting and servicing fire extinguishers when a client's forklift struck the employee's left ankle from behind, breaking it and requiring hospitalization.
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 423850)
Two employees were working on a forklift with its mast in the air when a chain came loose and the carriage fell down on them. The injured employee was hospitalized with a fractured left ankle, a laceration on the left side of their forehead, and a fractured L1 vertebra.
An employee was using a pipe grooving machine to groove an 8-inch pipe. His gloved index finger on his left hand was caught between the groover and the pipe, crushing the top part of his finger. The employee's left index finger was partially amputated.
An employee was being trained on operating a powered industrial truck (PIT) with a side-saddle stance. The employee was instructed to move the PIT s joystick back and forward to get a feel for it. The PIT went backward through a dock door that was approximately 3 feet off the ground. The PIT ended up on the employee. The employee was hospitalized with an amputation below the left knee, third-degree burns to lower extremities, and multiple fractures to the lower extremities.
An employee was helping a coworker transport a tall palm tree with a mini skid steer. The employee was severely shocked by a high-voltage electrical wire above the ground.
An employee was retrieving a Christmas tree from a shelf using a ladder. He missed a step and fell to the concrete floor. He sustained injury to his head and wrist.
An employee was operating an agricultural tractor during sugarcane harvesting. The employee sustained a lumbar sprain due to vibration or motion from the tractor.
An employee was moving a 3-ton condensing unit, strapped down on a dolly, out of a garage. The strap broke, causing the employee to fall backward onto the brick pavered driveway. The employee suffered injury to a spinal ligament in the neck.