Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Ellsworth Air Force Base, 1958 Scott Drive, ELLSWORTH AFB, SOUTH DAKOTA 57706
on — Concussions, affecting the brain.
Final narrative
While walking on base, an employee slipped on ice and fell backwards. The employee's head struck the ground. The employee suffered a concussion and a laceration to the back of the head.
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 928110)
An employee was activating the sprinkler system at a sports complex following recent maintenance to repair leaky pumps. When the system was activated, a section of newly installed 3-inch schedule 80 PVC pipe struck the employee, who lost consciousness. The employee suffered a broken jaw and a concussion.
An employee was ascending a flight of stairs after exiting their vehicle in an adjacent employee parking lot. The employee stepped to the right to avoid another employee on the left who was descending the stairs. The employee lost their balance and fell on the stairs. They were hospitalized with a laceration/abrasion to their chin, a fractured left humerus, and bruising to their left knee.
At about 3:10 p.m. on October 3, 2025, an employee was inspecting a car. Two dogs that had been in another car were leashed and tethered to a bollard. As the employee inspected the first car along with a narcotics detection dog, one of the other dogs came loose and attacked the narcotics dog. The employee was separating the dogs when the other dog bit his left ring finger. The last joint of the finger was injured and part of it was bitten off.
An employee was climbing a fixed ladder to perform maintenance in an attic. While unlocking the attic entry, the employee fell from the ladder more than 10 feet to the concrete below. The employee suffered a fractured hip, pelvis, tail bone, arm, and elbow, resulting in hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.