Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet · Soreness, pain, hurt-nonspecified injury
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Lacey Electric Inc., Springhill Suites Hotel (NEW CONSTRUCTION), NEWARK, DELAWARE 19711
on — Soreness, pain, hurt-nonspecified injury, affecting the back, including spine, spinal cord, unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was standing on the fifth floor at an open window waiting to receive three reels of aluminum electrical wire and one ground wire reel. The reels were in a makeshift wooden box set atop the forks of a telehandler, which were being raised to the open window by a truck operator. The employee retrieved two electrical reels and the ground wire reel. The last reel of electrical wire remained lopsided within the box. The employee climbed out from the window into the makeshift wooden box (holding the last reel of electrical wire). The box shifted and slipped off the forks. The employee fell with the box approximately five stories to the ground, suffering broken ribs and a back injury. The employee was hospitalized and had surgery.
An employee was performing an inspection of the seed warehouse when they fell 30 feet from a catwalk to the ground. The employee sustained facial injuries and a compound fracture to the left femur.
An employee was on a cherry picker approximately 30 feet high, selecting boxes of merchandise from warehouse racking to place onto a pallet. The employee fell and sustained neck and back injuries.
On November 6, 2023, an employee was installing roofing materials on a multi-residential construction site 35 feet above ground level. The anchor on the employee's personal fall arrest system became unattached and the employee fell to the ground. They sustained multiple fractures.
On October 12, 2023, an employee was stacking insulation on a roof when they fell 35 feet through a skylight to the concrete floor below. The employee sustained an ankle and pelvis fracture.
On the fifth or sixth floor deck, an employee was supervising iron workers who were measuring to place rebar. The employee was struck by a wooden tool box that was being lifted by a tower crane. The employee then struck a wooden fence and fell approximately 50 feet to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to both legs and lacerations.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 238210)
An employee was troubleshooting the control setup for a variable air volume box above a ceiling. The employee's hand came into contact with an exposed, energized 277-volt wire that had loosened from its terminal on the box's assembly. He was shocked and fell off a ladder. His left hand passed across the ceiling grid and was lacerated. He also suffered an electrical burn to the right hand and was hospitalized.
An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.
An employee was standing on an A-frame ladder approximately 6 feet above the floor while he attached a suspended light fixture to the ceiling. The employee lost balance, and fell to the tiled floor below, sustaining blunt force trauma to his head.
An employee was inspecting the overhead area of a single-person lift and repositioning the lift through a double doorway. As they were transitioning through the doorway, they were caught between the doorframe and the vertical mast of the lift. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to the nose, left maxillary sinus, left orbital bone, and left jaw, with fractures at the maxillary sinus area.
The injured employee was performing routine maintenance on a fan belt/pulley. The injured employee and another person were moving the pulley back and forth manually to find a bearing issue. The injured employee's left ring finger got caught between the belt and the pulley wheel, resulting in a soft tissue amputation.
A flagger was directing traffic flow in a highway work zone. They were standing approximately 1.5 feet behind the shoulder's demarcating line, next to and slightly behind a traffic drum. As they were directing traffic into and out of the driveway of a parking lot, a car attempted to get around a truck and struck the traffic drum, which subsequently struck the employee, who was thrown 15 feet and landed on top of concrete aggregate. The employee suffered pelvic and rib fractures, T10 and L3 vertebra fractures, and internal bleeding.
An employee was troubleshooting a power washer in the field. Because there might have been water in its fuel, he brought it back to the shop and drained about a gallon of fuel from the tank into a plastic container. Some of the fuel spilled onto the floor and ignited. The employee was stomping out the fire when he lost his balance and tripped into a stool, which caused the plastic container to spill more fuel onto the fire. The employee's pants and shirt caught on fire, and he fell, abrading his knee while trying to get through the flames. As well as the knee abrasion, he suffered burns to the left leg and left lower quadrant of the torso. He was hospitalized.
An employee was backing up a tram (towing powered industrial equipment) to connect it to a trash bin. The employee's left forearm/wrist was caught and crushed between the tram and the bin. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee went to lift a carton and tripped on a different carton that was on the floor. She fell on the floor in the backroom and sustained a fractured right hip, and abrasions to her arm and knee. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.