Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Precision Pipeline, LLC, Beutertown Road, LIBERTY, PENNSYLVANIA 16930
on — Fractures, affecting the lower leg(s).
Final narrative
An employee was helping a road bore move pipes from one place to another. The employee was strapping up the pipe casing as a backhoe was reversing nearby. The backhoe then struck the stem connected to the pipe's auger, which resulted in a teeter-totter effect, causing the pipe to strike the employee around his right thigh. He suffered a compound fracture to his right tibia and fibula, as well as a twisted ankle.
An employee was preparing to unhook a boring machine. While standing 5-8 feet away from the machine, a securing bolt broke and the employee was struck by a chain in the head and face, resulting in a blunt force trauma.
An employee was using a string trimmer with a brush cutter attachment. The brush cutter struck a rock and then struck and lacerated the employee's left calf.
An employee was conducting a test on a pipeline. While pushing a "pig" through a 20" pipe using compressed air, the steel door at the end of the pipe was blown off and struck the employee causing a broken arm requiring hospitalization and surgery.
At about 5:00 p.m. on September 15, 2018, an employee was driving a utility vehicle at a natural gas pipeline site when it flipped over. The employee suffered a potential stomach tear and was hospitalized.
An employee was setting up a warming tent at a job site when a work truck struck and pinned the employee between it and a 54-inch reamer. The employee's lower right leg was crushed, requiring hospitalization.
An employee was inspecting a bridge repair project. A gas-powered, walk-behind pavement saw, being used 12 feet away from the employee lunged forward, cutting his left foot. The employee's fourth toe was amputated and he was hospitalized.
An employee had been reviewing an insulated glass unit. The employee was placing the glass unit back in its box when it slipped out of the box and a chipped corner lacerated the employee's left hand.
An employee was on a truck while using a clamp to secure a quartz slab to an A-frame on the truck. A gust of wind pushed the slab onto the employee, resulting in a dislocated right shoulder and wrist.
An employee was shearing off two inches of metal when the metal kicked up and struck his hand. The employee's left ring and middle fingertips were amputated.
An employee was working on a 35,000-pound I.D. fan. As the employee rotated the blades with his foot, the blades continued to spin, lacerating his right foot and amputating a toe.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 237120)
An employee was acting as a spotter for a forklift operator. While its forks were being raised, the forklift came into contact with a power line. The employee was touching the forklift's metal frame at the time and was shocked on the left palm. The employee suffered burns to both the left palm and the sole of the left foot.
An employee was working as a fire watch. The employee was exposed to anhydrous ammonia and was not able to see while climbing down a ladder due to eye irritation. The employee fell and was hospitalized for a broken ankle.
An employee was standing on the ground awaiting the lowering of a pipe. After the pipe was lowered to the ground by a skid steer, it rolled and struck the employee's left leg. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured leg.
An employee was tightening a gas pipe with a wrench when the wrench slipped from his hand. The employee's arm then hit a metal cross-brace, resulting in a lacerated arm.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.