Defco, Inc.

On November 16, 2023, at around 3:30 p.m., a subcontracted employee was painting a door jam on a three-story house when he fell 20 feet through an opened elevator shaft to the floor below. The employee sustained fractured vertebrae that required hospitalization.

Employees were removing and replacing skylights on a metal roof. The injured employee's lanyard became tangled and they fell through the skylight to the ground 16-18 feet below. The employee suffered fractures to the wrist, ribs, and hip.

An employee was requested by a client to string wire on top of an auditorium. He used a boom lift to access a beam and then exited the boom lift to walk on the beam. He then stepped down on a drop ceiling, lost balance, and fell. The drop ceiling caved in and the employee fell 20 feet onto bleachers sustaining injury to his abdominal area and lower left leg. The employee was wearing a harness, but it was not connected to an anchoring point at the time of the fall.

An employee was installing decking (steel grates) in a new construction steel framed building. The employees were working approximately 22' above the next lower level, which was a concrete ground floor. The decking was pre-cut with the floor opening prior to installation. Shortly after installing the floor opening, the employee fell through the floor opening, approximately 18' onto a section of metal ductwork, resulting in fractures to the skull, ribs, thorax, and lumbar vertebra, as well as an ear laceration.

An employee was taking measurements of an area for drywall when they stepped backward into a partially covered hole in the floor. The employee fell approximately 17 feet to the level below, sustaining a forehead fracture and avulsion, a right shoulder dislocation, a left forearm fracture, left knee tendon and meniscus tears, as well as multiple contusions and abrasions.

An employee was positioning dunnage on a trailer while pipe was unloaded from a forklift. A pipe fell and the employee's right thumb and index finger were caught between the pipe and a piece of dunnage. The thumb was crushed, and the index fingertip was amputated.

An employee was using a lifting sling on a crane to move a straight-bar bundle and place it on top of an existing bundle. When moving the lifting sling, it became pinched between the bundle and a wood cleat. The bundle then fell onto the employee's left foot, resulting in crush injuries.

An employee was stacking metal tubes using a forklift. A stack became unstable and the employee got out of the forklift to steady it, instructing his helper to get into the forklift. The forklift movement caused some tubes to fall and strike the employee, resulting in an open fracture of his left hand.

An employee was setting up a flexible gear coupling hub in a lathe, preparing to bore it out to fit a shaft. The hub assembly was not secured in the chuck when the crane support was removed, and the employee's right little finger was caught between the hub assembly and the inside of the lathe. The fingertip was amputated.

An employee was using a crowbar to loosen a flat bar when the crowbar struck the employee's right eye. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

A flagger was directing traffic flow in a highway work zone. They were standing approximately 1.5 feet behind the shoulder's demarcating line, next to and slightly behind a traffic drum. As they were directing traffic into and out of the driveway of a parking lot, a car attempted to get around a truck and struck the traffic drum, which subsequently struck the employee, who was thrown 15 feet and landed on top of concrete aggregate. The employee suffered pelvic and rib fractures, T10 and L3 vertebra fractures, and internal bleeding.

An employee was troubleshooting a power washer in the field. Because there might have been water in its fuel, he brought it back to the shop and drained about a gallon of fuel from the tank into a plastic container. Some of the fuel spilled onto the floor and ignited. The employee was stomping out the fire when he lost his balance and tripped into a stool, which caused the plastic container to spill more fuel onto the fire. The employee's pants and shirt caught on fire, and he fell, abrading his knee while trying to get through the flames. As well as the knee abrasion, he suffered burns to the left leg and left lower quadrant of the torso. He was hospitalized.

An employee was backing up a tram (towing powered industrial equipment) to connect it to a trash bin. The employee's left forearm/wrist was caught and crushed between the tram and the bin. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee went to lift a carton and tripped on a different carton that was on the floor. She fell on the floor in the backroom and sustained a fractured right hip, and abrasions to her arm and knee. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

An employee was conducting a delivery of beverage products and began having cramps due to dehydration. The employee was hospitalized.