Other fall to lower level less than 6 feet · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at MERTZ MANUFACTURING, INC., 1701 N. WAVERLY, PONCA CITY, OKLAHOMA 74601
on — Fractures, affecting the back, including spine, spinal cord, unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was on the back of a semi truck attaching hoses to a trailer. He fell off the side of the truck, landing on the ground about 45 inches below. He was hospitalized to treat fractures in his back.
HospitalizedBack, including spine, spinal cord, unspecifiedSemi, tractor-trailer, tanker truck
An employee had been working in a hot environment near a burn table. After walking down some steps and heading to the area where she kept her personal items, she fell backward and hit her head on the floor, suffering a skull fracture.
A maintenance employee was removing a hydraulic cylinder from a paint conveyor lift. When the cylinder was removed, the counterbalance was freed. The employee's left hand was then caught between the counterbalance and the stop plate, fracturing the hand.
An employee was cleaning a weld with a 5-inch sander and was working in a tight spot when the sander kicked back and lacerated the employee above the left knee.
An employee was climbing a step ladder while carrying a 3-foot piece of conduit. As he went to reposition his feet on the ladder by pivoting, he slipped and fell from the third rung of a 6-foot ladder. The employee sustained fractures to the left femur, right elbow, and right ring finger.
An employee was descending a 4-step maintenance stand when she missed the bottom step and fell to the hangar floor. The employee suffered a left hip fracture.
An employee stopped a belt and was going to check it for missing packages. She fell backward 3-4 feet from an elevated platform and sustained a broken right arm.
An employee had just finished a routine concrete pour and was ascending the ladder to clean the concrete mixer truck. The employee lost their grip and fell approximately 2-3 feet, contacting the truck's bumper. The employee suffered rib fractures and a punctured lung.
An employee was performing duties as an expeditor. After opening the dock door, the employee scanned the barcode on the door of the truck and placed one foot on the truck and one foot on the dock. The truck drove out of the stall, causing the employee to fall 4 feet off the dock onto the concrete. The employee sustained fractures to the right side of the pelvis, elbow, and a left ring fingertip as well as injuries to the right wrist and bruising to the back and stomach.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 333249)
An employee was cleaning the floor by a belt conveyor when their right arm contacted the pulley/belting. His arm was pulled into the conveyor assembly, resulting in a fracture to his upper arm.
A backhoe tractor was moving gravel into a 1-foot-deep trench, and an employee was helping spread the gravel. The trench had been partly filled and the tractor was returning to it with a load of stone when its raised bucket struck the employee, who was standing in the trench. He was hospitalized, having suffered an abdominal injury that caused internal bleeding.
An employee was inside the frame of a traveling water screen that was up on sawhorses. The employee was working to fit a foot-shaft assembly onto the boot section when their left index finger was crushed and fractured between the sprocket and the set collar or chain. The fingertip was amputated.
On July 26, 2025, an employee was assembling a custom-designed automation line. During troubleshooting, he made contact with a photoelectric sensor that was part of the machine s part detection system. This triggered a small pneumatic crimping cylinder, which activated and came down on the tip of his right thumb, resulting in a partial amputation without bone loss.
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.