Exposure to environmental heat · Multiple effects of heat and light
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Republic Services, Inc., FM 78 / FM 3009, SCHERTZ, TEXAS 78154
on — Multiple effects of heat and light, affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
An employee started feeling ill during a trash pickup and threw up. The employee was hospitalized for dehydration and heat stress.
On January 15, 2024, an employee was operating a forklift carrying a 700-pound container. He was making a right turn into the facility when the forklift tipped over onto its left side, crushing the employee's left leg. The employee's left leg was amputated below the knee.
On September 13, 2022, an employee was disassembling shelves in the parts room when an upright shelf fell, hitting his head and causing a laceration near his right eye.
An employee was performing finishing work on a residential driveway when they began to experience body cramps and were hospitalized for heat stress and dehydration.
An agent was participating in SWAT team selection and was performing various physical fitness skills including running and exercise intervals. The agent experienced dehydration and a muscular injury that required hospitalization.
On September 26, 2023, an employee was delivering packages when he began to feel ill with a pain in his side. He was hospitalized for heat exhaustion and dehydration.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 562212)
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 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.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.