Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Deuel County Farmers Union Oil Company, Agricultral Field South of White, WHITE, SOUTH DAKOTA 57276
on — Fractures, affecting the lower leg(s).
Final narrative
An employee was operating a four-wheeler to take soil samples when it hit a rock. The four-wheeler rolled over onto the employee's left leg fracturing the fibula and tibia.
An employee was operating a sit-down type of material handling equipment (MHE). They were turning the MHE with the clamp attachment in the air when the MHE fell over onto its right side. The employee's right foot was caught under the battery cover of the MHE. The employee sustained a chemical burn from the battery and a fractured right ankle.
An employee was driving an unloaded forklift outside a building. During a left turn, the forklift drove off the paved area onto an unpaved surface, became unstable, and tipped over. The employee was pinned under the forklift and suffered two broken leg bones and a broken hip.
An employee was trimming tree branches from an aerial lift. As they were maneuvering the aerial bucket lift from inside, the truck drove over soft ground and tipped over. The bucket lift fell to the ground with the employee tied off inside, resulting in rib fractures.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 424710)
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 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 moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.