Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at K-Tech Kleening Systems, Inc., 302 Cottage St, MERRILL, WISCONSIN 54452
on — Concussions, affecting the brain.
Final narrative
An employee was walking to their vehicle, slipped on ice and fell hitting their head. The employee sustained a concussion.
An employee was working in the forest flagging an area to be harvested. He took a step and his foot slipped on a stick hidden under the leaves, causing him to fall to the ground. He landed on his right foot/lower leg resulting in a fractured tibia.
An employee was inspecting an apartment to ensure it was ready for a new resident to move in. The carpet in the apartment had been recently cleaned and was still wet. As the employee went from the carpet to the tiled floor of the bathroom, they slipped and fell, resulting in a torn left hamstring.
An employee was delivering a letter along a rural carrier route when she stepped on an ice-covered snow drift, slipped, and fell to the ground. The employee sustained a right hip fracture that required surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 561720)
An employee was rinsing a food processing machine at a facility and went to stabilize himself. His left hand contacted the surface of the machine and a guard inadvertently closed, crushing the tip of his ring finger and resulting in an amputation and fracture.
An employee was performing janitorial duties on the 15th floor of a building that was under construction. She began having trouble breathing. The employee was hospitalized with lung irritation caused by dust.
On October 17, 2025, an employee was descending a fixed two-step stool when she slipped, landed on her left leg, and suffered a broken femur. She was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee slipped while getting on a trailer. His chin struck the trailer jack, and he suffered fractures to his jawbone and thyroid cartilage. He was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
A crew was finishing work for the day at a job site. An insulated modular panel (IMP) being used as a door fell on an employee. She suffered a dislocated shoulder, a broken arm, and a gash on her left leg. She was hospitalized, requiring surgery for the arm/shoulder injury.
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.
An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.