Metalplate Galvanizing, L.P.

A forklift was lifting an 800-pound steel frame. An employee was waiting to place wire beneath it when it slid off the forklift and landed on his left hand. He suffered a broken little finger, nerve damage, and a laceration.

The injured employee was helping a co-worker secure finishing material to a pallet using steel strapping (5/8" wide, 0.20" thick). The co-worker went to hand the strapping to the injured employee when they bent down and their right eye contacted the steel strapping, resulting in a laceration to the cornea and injury to the retina.

On November 25, 2024, an employee was leading the galvanizing crew. A finished galvanized beam was exiting the kettle when the support chain broke, causing molten zinc to splash the employee. The employee sustained burns to his chest and left forearm area.

An employee was moving solar beams (250-pound I-beams) from a stack using a specially designed tool to lower one beam at a time onto rollers. Once lowered onto rollers, the beam could then be navigated through the remainder of production. A beam was lowered onto his right-hand fingers and the employee sustained amputations of their distal middle and ring fingers.

An employee was working on a steel beam when it fell and struck them, breaking their right leg.

An employee connected a steam line to a hose to clean equipment when the fitting broke loose. They were struck by steam in the left inner thigh, resulting in burns that required hospitalization.

An employee was straining hot water from a pot of rice when the water splashed onto them, resulting in burns to their chest, arms, shoulder, and back.

An employee was making tea when she noticed tea grinds were collecting on the side and water was no longer dripping through the funnel. The employee was checking the funnel when boiling water and tea grinds spilled onto the left side of her body. The employee sustained burns to her neck, back, and arm.

An employee had turned off the ball valve on a waterpipe system and was removing the plug when the coupling system attached to the strainer came apart. Hot water sprayed on his arm and back, resulting in first- and second-degree burns that required surgery.

An employee was using a shovel to remove waste vermiculite from molten zinc. The metal had been placed in a bin and partially hardened. The employee broke through the partially hardened metal; still-molten metal flowed to the employee's steel-toed right boot and entered through the cloth boot tongue. The employee suffered a third-degree burn to the right foot and was hospitalized.

An employee was cutting steel channels from a hanging rack that was being supported by a forklift. When they were finished, the forklift started moving the rack out of the area and a piece of material snagged one of the rack legs, causing the rack to tilt backward. The rack slipped off the forklift and struck the employee on his right side/lower back. He sustained a fractured pelvis and was hospitalized.

An employee was working to remove waste wire between two boat rack/spreader bars (10 feet in length, 8 inches wide, and 16 inches tall, with a center lifting point for a crane hook) in the hanging department. One boat rack was leaning on another boat rack. The employee reached between the boat racks to move the leaning boat rack and remove the waste wire. The leaning boat rack shifted and the employee's left index finger was pinched between the two racks (weighing approximately 600 pounds each). The employee sustained an abrasive amputation of the left index fingertip from the nailbed up.

An employee was performing maintenance on a coating machine and the belt cover guard was removed to repair the belt. The moving belt caught the employee's fingers and pulled them between the belts, injuring three fingers on the employee's left hand. The fingernails were removed from their little and middle fingers. The ring finger was amputated at the first knuckle.

An employee tripped, fell to the floor, and suffered a broken right radius. The employee was hospitalized, requiring surgery.

An employee was stacking steel grating. The grating moved and their right ring finger got caught between grating. The last digit of the ring finger was amputated.

An employee was traveling down the maintenance aisle of a warehouse on a single-pallet front rider jack. The jack malfunctioned, causing the brakes to apply; the employee fell forward onto the concrete warehouse floor. The employee suffered an injury to the left leg and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.

An employee was operating a metal roller machine to roll a small piece of metal. The employee's right index finger became caught between the metal and the machine, and the fingertip was amputated.

An employee was shot in the leg with a pistol during an altercation with two people who had entered the store without permission.

An employee was directing a truck driver to a dump site when the truck's peanut trailer slipped off the kingpin. As the trailer fell, a ladder attached to it lacerated the employee's ear. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was unloading a forklift from a trailer to the ground. The employee was climbing down the ladder of the trailer when their foot slipped through one of the rungs, causing them to fall backward onto the forklift forks. The employee was hospitalized for fractured ribs.