Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at United Rentals (North America), Inc., 376 NW Dan Tibbs Road, HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA 35806
on — Fractures, affecting the upper arm(s).
Final narrative
An employee was unloading a portable boom lift by driving it from a trailer onto a portable loading ramp. The forward wheel base of the boom pushed the trailer forward and the boom dropped about 18 inches; the employee's right upper arm struck the upper guardrail and was broken.
An excavator bucket was being removed. An employee was pulling a snap ring to remove a pin and lost his grip. The high-tension snap ring recoiled and his left middle fingertip was amputated by the snap ring.
An employee was installing a hydraulic cylinder on a boom lift. The cylinder slid down and caught the employee's right thumb resulting in a laceration and fracture to the right thumb.
An employee was servicing the generator. As the employee stepped over the containment berm, the employee slipped and fell on the generator trailer hitch, resulting in broken ribs.
An employee was setting up cribbing to complete an aerial lift track system repair. As he was lowering the jack stand, his hand was caught between an axle and the cribbing, resulting in partial amputation of their left index and left middle fingers at the first joint.
On November 17, 2023, an employee was unloading a trailer using a forklift when the truck drove away, causing the employee and the forklift to drop to the ground. The employee suffered back injuries that required hospitalization.
An employee was driving a golf cart when its left leaf spring cracked, causing the cart to abruptly turn left into a nearby ditch. The employee suffered three fractures in his right leg below the knee, as well as severe lacerations on his head and forehead.
An employee was operating a forklift to unload a truck when the truck pulled away. The forklift and the employee fell approximately 3.5 feet. The employee sustained fractures to the arm and neck as well as a head contusion.
An employee was moving a scissor lift onto a loading dock ramp when the lift fell over the side of the ramp with the employee in it. They sustained rib fractures.
An employee was operating a forklift and unloading a trailer when the trailer pulled away from the dock. The forklift rolled backward and fell out of the trailer. The employee sustained head trauma and a back injury.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 532490)
An employee was pulling a data cable through a ceiling. He fell through the ceiling, landing at ground level. He suffered a laceration to the forehead, a dislocated left little finger, a broken left ring finger, and a laceration to the liver.
On September 16, 2025, an employee was installing and adjusting spotlights on a performance stage that was under construction. While crossing the stage to speak with other contractors, the employee encountered a section of the stage where the elevation changed to a lower level. As the employee stepped down 14 inches to the lower level, his knee locked up and he fell to the stage. He subsequently rolled off the stage and fell approximately 2 to 3 feet to the floor, resulting in a fractured tibial plateau in his right leg.
An employee was delivering a 65-foot boom lift to a rental customer's construction site. The employee set up the ramp truck in the parking lot adjacent to the construction site. He elevated the boom 4-5 feet to clear a temporary fence. While driving the boom lift off the ramp, the wheels slid to the driver's side of the ramp truck, ultimately sliding off the ramp. The boom lift fell off the side of the truck and rolled onto its side. The employee sustained a fractured clavicle, a dislocated shoulder, separated/fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and a fractured left femur. The employee required surgery.
An employee was performing maintenance on a telehandler and installing a carriage lift cylinder. The employee was checking the alignment when the cylinder slipped and partially amputated his left middle finger.
An employee had just serviced a battery and was reinstalling it in a forklift using a battery extractor. The employee was trying to pull the battery out of the battery compartment when the extractor moved, causing the battery to shift on the rollers. The employee's right hand was crushed between the top of the battery and the battery compartment.
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 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.