Struck by swinging or slipping object, other than handheld, n.e.c. · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Wanzek Construction, Karankawa Wind Farm, MATHIS, TEXAS 78368
on — Fractures, affecting the lower leg(s).
Final narrative
Employees were conducting rigging operations and lifting a 350-pound lug when it swung unexpectedly and struck the injured employee in the lower left leg, fracturing it.
An employee was attaching a trailer tongue to a truck hitch when his left index finger was caught between the trailer tongue and truck hitch, amputating it at the nailbed.
Employees were removing a tarp from blades using a powered industrial truck. While the powered industrial truck was working on the opposite side of the blades, the forks contacted the injured employee's left middle finger, resulting in an amputation of the first digit.
While cleaning inside a wind turbine tower, an employee stepped through an open access hatch and fell to the deck below. The employee sustained fractures to the face, arms and legs. Fall protection was not worn at the time of the incident.
A crew was pulling a 4-inch plastic gas pipe off a reel and straightening it for installation. The injured employee stepped up on the trailer to cut the last band holding the pipe in the coil on the reel. As he turned to step off the trailer, the end of the pipe rotated and sprung out of the cage surrounding the coil, striking the employee on the side of the head and knocking him off of the trailer into the roadway. The employee suffered head trauma that required hospitalization.
An employee and a co-worker were performing a pick inside a clear well. They rigged the skid pan that was full of broken concrete. When lifting, the load began to swing toward a wall. The employee tried to stop the skid pan from swinging and was struck by the pan, resulting in fractures to their left hip and wrist.
The employee had just completed refueling a lattice crane that was breaking up material and was winding the fuel hose back into the fuel truck when he was struck by the catwalk/stairs of the crane. The employee was hospitalized with a laceration to his backside, possible internal bleeding, and a broken hip.
An employee was fusing 10-inch black rubber utility pipes together using a pipe fusion machine and could not get the pipes to set correctly. The employee used a nylon strap attached to an excavator to lift one side of a pipe off a steel plate. As his hand was between two pipes, the pipes came back together, partially amputating two of his fingers.
An employee was lifting four bags of a lime blend weighing approximately 10,000 pounds using a crane. The load swung and pinned the employee against a structural I-beam, resulting in fractures to the hip and pelvis.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 221115)
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee was ascending the wind tower when their right arm was caught between the lift and the ladder. The employee sustained a right elbow injury and was hospitalized.
On 3/27/2025, at 9:57 AM, an employee was performing switching work including installing electrical grounds when an arc flash occurred. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was worn at the time, including an arc flash hood, shirt, and pants. The employee suffered burns and was hospitalized.
An employee was cleaning dirt out of a contactor using a hand-held blower and contact cleaner. An arc flash occurred, and the employee sustained burns to the right side of their face and both hands.
On February 16, 2025, an employee was descending a ladder on the third deck after completing rigging at a wind farm. Their left foot slipped on the penultimate rung and their leg became wedged between the ladder rungs and a horizontal bracket. The employee then landed on the second deck resting platform, resulting in a leg fracture above the ankle.
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.