Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at HANK'S EXCAVATING & LANDSCAPING, INC., Marlo & 28th Street, BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS 62226
on — Puncture wounds, except gunshot wounds, affecting the cheek(s).
Final narrative
On 4/29/2019, an employee was conducting landscaping operations at a street corner. He pushed a tree branch out of his way, and it snapped back and struck his face. A splinter pierced the left upper cheek just below the eye. Safety glasses were worn at the time.
An employee was tossing a damaged toilet into a compactor. The toilet bounced off the compactor and lacerated the employee's right wrist, cutting an artery and tendon.
An employee was operating a hydraulic jack to bend a frame when the jack came loose and struck the employee. They were hospitalized for a spleen injury.
A truck had been towed into the shop with a flat tire and a blown airbag. An employee checked the tire for damage and was airing the tire. The employee was installing the valve core when the bead slipped off the rim. Air escaped, and the aluminum wheel struck the employee's head and face. The employee became unresponsive and was bleeding.
On December 14, 2023, at 8:40 p.m., three employees were inspecting milling machines for startup. A few of the sleeves on the mill drum needed to be changed out. The injured employee was trying to input a sleeve on the mill drum using a hammer. The hammer hit the edge of the drum, which caused a metal piece to splinter off and strike the employee's cheek just below the left eye. The metal splinter embedded in the back of their eye socket, resulting in pain, swelling, and bleeding that required hospitalization.
An employee was pushing a line of carts into a vestibule when the door cable snapped and struck his right ankle. The employee suffered a fracture that required surgery and hospitalization.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 238910)
An employee was directing trucks as they entered and left a highway work zone. A vehicle struck them, resulting in multiple fractures and other injuries. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was assisting the crew with patching and restoring a roadway after the installation of a sewer line. He was helping place and level the blacktop/backfill material over the trench area to bring the road surface back to proper grade. The employee was walking between a forward-moving dump truck and a dirt pile when his right foot was run over by the truck s wheel, causing him to fall. The employee sustained injury to his foot.
An employee was operating a skid steer with a bucket attachment at a demolition site. While driving it to the rear of the property to park it, the employee came into contact with a live electrical transformer unit that was located outside of the facility. The employee sustained electrical burns on his hands extending up to his elbows and a fractured ankle.
An employee was installing a door on a semi-trailer. They were using a forklift to lift the door to the height of the trailer when the door became jammed between the forklift mast and the hinge on the trailer. When the employee went to dislodge the door from the mast, the door fell and crushed their foot. Their big toe was amputated. The employee was hospitalized and their big toe was surgically reattached. The employee's foot and other toes also required surgery.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.