Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Herc Rentals, 3 Avis Drive, LATHAM, NEW YORK 12110
on — Fractures, affecting the lower leg(s).
Final narrative
On 10/23/2018, at 2:00 PM, an employee was unloading an 80-foot boom from a trailer. The ramp from the trailer was not lowered at the time. He attempted to stop the lift, but the wheels were already at the edge of the trailer, and the momentum of the boom caused the back two wheels to slide off the trailer. When the wheels hit the ground, the boom had a catapult effect that threw the employee up onto the controls. His foot was still in the accelerator shroud, and his body momentum in combination with his foot being held by the shroud caused the tibia and fibula in his lower right leg to break. When the safety harness lanyard engaged and pulled him back into the basket, he landed on his broken leg, causing the bones to break through his skin.
An employee was jacking up a skid steer to place the unit on jack stands. While adjusting the stands, the unit slipped and contacted their right index finger. The employee sustained an amputation of the finger at the first joint.
An employee was maneuvering a scissor lift while walking alongside the unit. The employee's foot was struck by the machine's front tire and he fell to the ground.
An employee was troubleshooting a pump that was extracting slurry material from a tank. When the employee removed the pump's discharge hose, slurry material splashed and burned the employee. The employee was hospitalized.
On November 17, 2023, an employee was unloading a trailer using a forklift when the truck drove away, causing the employee and the forklift to drop to the ground. The employee suffered back injuries that required hospitalization.
An employee was driving a golf cart when its left leaf spring cracked, causing the cart to abruptly turn left into a nearby ditch. The employee suffered three fractures in his right leg below the knee, as well as severe lacerations on his head and forehead.
An employee was operating a forklift to unload a truck when the truck pulled away. The forklift and the employee fell approximately 3.5 feet. The employee sustained fractures to the arm and neck as well as a head contusion.
An employee was moving a scissor lift onto a loading dock ramp when the lift fell over the side of the ramp with the employee in it. They sustained rib fractures.
An employee was operating a forklift and unloading a trailer when the trailer pulled away from the dock. The forklift rolled backward and fell out of the trailer. The employee sustained head trauma and a back injury.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 532412)
An excavator bucket was being removed. An employee was pulling a snap ring to remove a pin and lost his grip. The high-tension snap ring recoiled and his left middle fingertip was amputated by the snap ring.
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An employee was taking a scissor lift off a flatbed trailer. While using the remote operator controls and walking alongside the lift, the wheel of the lift turned in the wrong direction, causing it to strike the employee and roll over his left ankle. The employee was hospitalized with two broken bones in his ankle.
An employee was working on an excavator's tracks. He was swinging a sledgehammer to finish pushing a metal tractor pin into the track links. A hammer-blow caused a piece of the pin to fly off, ricochet, and embed itself in his buttock. He was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was picking up crane pads to put onto their trailer. Their finger got pinched between pads, resulting in an amputation involving the loss of skin.
An employee was operating a battery-powered broom to clean demolition debris off the top of the outermost bridge girder. The girder was approximately 11 feet above the demolition scaffold below. The employee fell approximately 8 feet to wind bracing below. The employee was hospitalized with a pelvis/tailbone fracture. Fall protection was in place at the time.
An employee slipped while descending in a stairwell, fell, and suffered multiple contusions/bruises to the head, neck, shoulders, knees, and back. She was hospitalized.
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