AK Steel Corporation

On January 23, 2020, an employee working for AK Steel was starting to pour an electric arc furnace when an explosion inside of the furnace caused molten metal to be ejected from the furnace, striking the employee. The employee was hospitalized with serious burns to her upper body.

An employee was helping install a metal staircase. It shifted and pinched the employee's left middle finger, amputating it at the first knuckle.

An employee was removing bolts from a flanged cooling water pipe connection. When the last bolt was removed, a surge of blast furnace gas came out of the pipe, exposing the employee to carbon monoxide.

On December 22, 2017, an employee was working on a water coil roll when steam came out of the roll and burned the employee's stomach, chest, and arm.

An employee was changing a 2-inch braided hose equipped with cam locks. The cam locks disengaged, and the employee was sprayed with steam and hot water, suffering second degree burns to both hands and the left arm, as well as possible second degree burns to the forehead and neck.

An employee was assisting with pipe on a drilling rig. The slips came down and landed on the employee's left foot fracturing four metatarsals.

Two employees were struck by the rotary table of a drilling rig while installing caisson. Employee 1 suffered multiple fractures, internal injuries, and head trauma. Employee 2 suffered multiple fractures, internal injuries, spinal injury, and head trauma.

Employees were felling hazard trees. The injured employee was conducting 'bucking' operations to saw a tree from the road when the tree kicked-back, pinning him against the ground and fracturing his left femur. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

An employee was greasing tongs on a work-over rig. The tongs lacerated one of the employee's fingers.

An employee was chaining a vehicle when he had to change tools and the compressor. As the compressor was being charged, the employee stepped near the vehicle to make sure the compressor was attached. Then, he instructed a co-worker to lower the compressor. His right hand was on the compressor and under the chain, causing his ring finger to be crushed.

An employee fell while entering the building. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured ankle and required surgery.

An employee was doing a cable change on top of an electric overhead traveling (EOT) crane. They were positioned between the cable drum and the drive shaft. While rotating the cable drum, the employee reached for the new cable that was to be installed. The grease fitting on the drive shaft caught their fall harness and pulled them underneath the drive shaft. The employee was pinned between the drive shaft and two pieces of angle steel, resulting in a fracture to their left hip.

An employee was working to close a furnace door. The hydraulic mechanism that opens and closes the furnace door was non-operational and had been disconnected to allow the furnace door to be opened manually. As the employee was releasing the pins that held the door open, the door and the hydraulic cylinder fell, pinching their left hand between the hydraulic cylinder's base plate and the furnace. The employee suffered amputation of the little fingertip.

A rolling mill was shut down due to a cobble between two mill stands. The injured employee was cleaning the cobble from the delivery side of stand A, while another employee went to the control panel to move stand B and stand A moved instead. The injured employee's right thumb got caught between the delivery guide of stand A and the looper trough. The tip of his thumb required surgical amputation to the bone to allow for stitches.

An employee was helping another employee load stock material onto a press brake when the stock slipped. The injured employee's right index finger was caught between the press brake die and the stock, resulting in amputation at the first knuckle.

An employee was working to deliver mail to an apartment building. She was waiting for a customer to move, to obtain clearance to the mailboxes. The door swung inward and closed on her right little finger. The top half of her finger was surgically amputated.

An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.

On October 30, 2025, an employee was working to adjust a stackable metal shipping container. As the container dropped into place, it caught the employee's hands in an area between the upper and lower cross-members. The employee suffered a laceration to the left ring finger that required stitches, bruising to the right ring finger, and fractures to the right middle finger that necessitated medical amputation of the fingertip.

An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.

An employee was setting up communication equipment for a meeting. They were walking and tripped over a speaker on the ground. The employee sustained a leg injury.