Struck by object falling from vehicle or machinery-other than vehicle part · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at O'Brien Steel Service Co., 125 Commercial Street, LACON, ILLINOIS 61540
on — Fractures, affecting the leg(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was moving a 3,500-pound bundle of parts with a jib crane and a sling. The sling broke and the bundle fell on the employee, breaking his leg.
An employee was straightening a stack of materials (including steel flats, channels, and beams) on a cart. He was using a crane with a magnet. While he was "locking" the magnet, the crane pulled a 1,400-pound bundle of channel off the stack that struck his left leg. He was hospitalized and required surgery to the leg.
On March 18, 2025, an employee was stacking parts using an overhead crane equipped with an electromagnet when their left ring finger got caught in a pinch point between the parts, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was cleaning a band saw when his glove got caught on the blade, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger to the second knuckle.
An employee was operating a belt grinder/sander to remove slag from the edges of a steel part when the sanding belt contacted the employee's right ring finger and sanded through their protective gloves. The employee suffered a partial amputation to the distal joint and was hospitalized.
On February 9, 2023, an employee was using an overhead crane to remove a bundle of cold finish rounds (steel bars) from a vertical storage pan to place the bundle on a work table for packaging and shipment. The storage pan was on the forks of a forklift parked near the work table. The end of the bundle was raised approximately 3 feet above the pan when the chain slipped off allowing the bundle to fall back into the pan. This caused the pan and bundle to fall off the forklift. The edge of the pan scraped down his shin and landed on his left foot. The employee was hospitalized with a broken foot.
An employee was transporting an 800-pound die on a cart from the tool room. The employee was pulling the cart when it struck a metal plate on the floor. This caused the cart to tip forward and the die to slide off the cart. The die struck the employee's left foot and their second toe was amputated.
An employee was using a forklift to load pallets of product on a trailer. He exited the forklift to adjust a pallet by hand. The pallet fell on him, resulting in an injury to the left leg.
An employee was lifting a 500-pound steel counterweight off a pallet using a magnetic hold jib crane. The counterweight detached from the crane and the employee sustained a left foot/toe fracture that required surgery.
An employee was using a pipe wrench to turn a 42-foot-long steel pipe on jack stands to weld the bottom portion. The pipe fell off the stands, striking the injured employee on his left shin. The employee sustained a left leg fracture at the shin area as well as a tibia fracture that required surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 423510)
A load of steel angles was being lowered when the lifting chain hit the load, causing it to slide toward an employee. An angle slid and pinched the employee, catching both of their legs between the beams and an angle. The employee suffered two fractured legs.
An employee was on the deck of a trailer helping a customer unload tubes. The employee was working to place a cargo strap on the remaining tubes using a winch bar when it slipped off the tubing, causing him to lose his balance and fall headfirst onto the asphalt lot below. The employee suffered a contusion on his forehead, resulting in hospitalization.
An employee and a customer were unloading two rectangular tubes. The tubes were wrapped together. The plastic wrap was cut so that one tube could be picked up. As the employee was lifting the top tube, the other tube (still connected to the top tube) came down onto his hand and broke two of his fingers. He was hospitalized.
An employee was assisting as a forklift got pipe from a pipe rack. The employee was on one of the forklift's forks as it was raised to the top of the rack, a height of about 15 feet. He fell to the ground and suffered a dislocated and fractured right elbow.
On September 23, 2025, at approximately 7:43 p.m., an employee was using a knife to cut poly banding from a metal coil. The knife slipped, causing a laceration to the inside of their left arm at the elbow joint. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery to repair a damaged vein.
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.