WCA Waste Corporation

An employee was drying and finishing vehicles when a vehicle door closed on their left middle fingertip and amputated it.

An employee was climbing down from a tractor trailer bed when they lost their footing and grabbed onto the roll-up door to stop the fall. The roll-up door then fell onto the employee's hand, resulting in a hand fracture that required surgery.

An employee was attempting to remove a tarp from a flatbed trailer when the trailer handle struck the employee in the chest, resulting in two broken ribs and a punctured lung.

An employee was near a backhoe while the operator was getting a broom. The broom handle struck the lever that actuates the swing of the backhoe bucket. The bucket then struck the injured employee, pinning him to the outrigger. The employee suffered crush injuries to the chest.

The injured employee was being trained on loading trucks in the load out bay. The injured employee and his supervisor climbed the stairs that run parallel to the truck and trailer, walked to the upper platform used for observation and sample taking, and saw that the lid of the grain trailer was closed. The employees began working to open the lid which appeared to be stuck due to cold weather. The injured employee pulled on one of the pivot arms that connect the lid to the main body of the trailer. As the lid began to open, the employee s right hand slipped down on the pivot arm and his index finger was caught between the pivot arm and the base of the pivot arm. The employee s right index finger was fractured and three nerves were severed. The employee was hospitalized.

A driver had backed up a rear load truck to a dumpster. The winch cable was bound, and another employee went to use the controls to put slack in the line. The cable tightened instead of loosening while the driver was holding it, and it caught his hand against the truck and crushed his thumb. The thumb was fractured and lacerated; he was hospitalized, requiring surgery. The incident took place during a training activity.

An employee left the guard shack to speak to a customer. A bulldozer ran over her right foot, resulting in three broken toes.

An employee was pulling into a customer's parking lot to pick up a roll-off container when the vehicle ran over the median curb. The vehicle then veered to the left, striking the side curb and the retaining wall. The employee sustained injuries to his neck and spine, as well as a damaged artery, a head laceration, and fractured ribs.

An employee was replacing the bracing arm of a baler. The replacement part (weighing an estimated 500 pounds) was moved into place using a truck-mounted crane with a lifting strap attached to the designated pick point. The employee then used his right hand to stabilize/align the part. The part shifted, crushing his right index finger against the mounting pin hole. The employee's finger was amputated above the first knuckle.

An employee was moving a mower with a tractor bucket when the bucket slipped and struck another employee on the hand. The injured employee sustained a partial amputation of their left little finger.

An employee was helping to move a 1,300-pound coil on a cart. The steel caster hit a crack in the concrete, the weld holding the caster onto the cart broke, and the coil and cart tipped over onto the employee. He was hospitalized with a laceration on his forehead and a pelvic fracture on his right side.

An employee was working in the food service warehouse when he experienced chest pain, difficulty breathing, and lost consciousness. The employee sustained carbon monoxide poisoning.

An employee was cutting a piece of metal rod with a metal cutting machine. His right middle finger became caught between the rod and the machine's table. The employee's fingertip was partially amputated.

An employee was working at her desk. She went to stand up and fell to the floor beside the desk. The employee sustained a hip displacement and required surgery.

An employee was processing wood boards at a chop saw when the saw malfunctioned and the blade cut her left hand and fingers. She was hospitalized and her little finger was surgically amputated.