United Refining Company

An employee was troubleshooting a hydraulic hose he had just replaced on a railroad tugger to make sure it wasn't leaking when the base of his right index and middle fingers were exposed to high pressure hydraulic fluid from the leak. The pressurized fluid punctured his skin and he sustained inflammation from his hand up into his upper arm. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

An employee was transferring water from the frac tank/settling tank to another tank. The transfer continued until sludge built up in the pipe. The employee then had to clear the sludge from the pipe. The employee blew the line out using nitrogen, at 40 to 50-pounds, then heard a leak coming from a cam-lock connection. The employee was securing the broken cam-lock mechanism when a plug shot out of the pipe and broke the employee's finger. The employee was hospitalized for surgery.

While working in the Rigger Shop, an employee was using channel lock pliers to disconnect two pieces of pipe that were bolted together. The pipe was raised by a crane. When the top bolt was removed, a portion of the pipe was pulled upward, and the other portion fell to floor. The employee's finger was pinched between lower handle of pliers and the portion of pipe supported by the crane. The employee suffered an amputation to his left ring finger.

An employee was drying and finishing vehicles when a vehicle door closed on their left middle fingertip and amputated it.

An employee was climbing down from a tractor trailer bed when they lost their footing and grabbed onto the roll-up door to stop the fall. The roll-up door then fell onto the employee's hand, resulting in a hand fracture that required surgery.

An employee was attempting to remove a tarp from a flatbed trailer when the trailer handle struck the employee in the chest, resulting in two broken ribs and a punctured lung.

An employee was near a backhoe while the operator was getting a broom. The broom handle struck the lever that actuates the swing of the backhoe bucket. The bucket then struck the injured employee, pinning him to the outrigger. The employee suffered crush injuries to the chest.

The injured employee was being trained on loading trucks in the load out bay. The injured employee and his supervisor climbed the stairs that run parallel to the truck and trailer, walked to the upper platform used for observation and sample taking, and saw that the lid of the grain trailer was closed. The employees began working to open the lid which appeared to be stuck due to cold weather. The injured employee pulled on one of the pivot arms that connect the lid to the main body of the trailer. As the lid began to open, the employee s right hand slipped down on the pivot arm and his index finger was caught between the pivot arm and the base of the pivot arm. The employee s right index finger was fractured and three nerves were severed. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee had been unloading tires from the back of a pickup truck. The employee went to step down out of the back of the pickup truck and stepped on the lift gate in a vertical position. The lift gate tipped and employee fell, impacting their side on the upright liftgate. The employee sustained five fractured ribs and a punctured right lung. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee fell down the stairs, resulting in hospitalization for a fractured leg and shoulder injury.

An employee was working from the ground, connecting/disconnecting railcars within a storage yard. He was adjusting a railcar coupling with his foot. The employee's right foot was fractured and lacerated by the coupler as the railcars were coming together.

An employee was using a portable 3-inch centrifugal trash pump to move water from a unit slab containment to a tank. The water had a pH of 6.67. When the tank gauge showed that the elevations were not changing, it was determined the gas-operated pump had lost its prime, causing heat to generate due to the internal friction of the pump. The employee turned the pump off and blocked in the influent line. The discharge hose was then disconnected from the pump. When this disconnection occurred, hot water and steam were released from the pump and contacted with the employee. The employee suffered second-degree burns on their chest, stomach, thigh, and arm that required hospitalization.

An employee was making rounds to collect readings from petroleum tanks. He followed a pathway that had several ground-level protrusions from decommissioned pipe conduits, electrical grounding, and a support strut. The employee tripped on a conduit stub, lost his balance, and fell, landing on his left hip. He was hospitalized with a broken left hip.

An employee was cleaning leaves with a backpack blower when he fell from a ladder, resulting in injuries to his head, neck, and back.

An employee was operating a battery-powered broom to clean demolition debris off the top of the outermost bridge girder. The girder was approximately 11 feet above the demolition scaffold below. The employee fell approximately 8 feet to wind bracing below. The employee was hospitalized with a pelvis/tailbone fracture. Fall protection was in place at the time.

An employee slipped while descending in a stairwell, fell, and suffered multiple contusions/bruises to the head, neck, shoulders, knees, and back. She was hospitalized.

An employee's right middle finger was caught in a nip point. The employee suffered an amputation to the middle finger at the first knuckle.

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.