Preferred Materials, Inc.

An employee was operating a utility task vehicle (UTV). During a left turn, the vehicle rolled over on its right side. The employee suffered a lumbar strain and fractures to four lower-back vertebrae. She was hospitalized.

An employee was pulling a hose out of a cement tanker. The hose twisted and the employee tripped over it, falling to the ground and suffering a broken left kneecap.

An employee was cleaning a water sprinkler system used to keep rock moist before use. The employee as standing on top of the material bin wall. The wall is about 2.5 to 3 feet thick. The height of the wall is about 8 to 9 feet (3-blocks high : 6ft long by 3ft high). The sprinkler system's pipes run on the top of the wall. The employee was cleaning one of the holes on the pipe with both feet on the wall. When the employee was standing up, his right foot slipped and he fell forward 9 feet into the empty bin that was next to it. The employee sustained multiple fractures including the right scapula, left pelvis, lumbar vertebrae and two left ribs.

On November 27, 2023, an employee was emptying a 2-inch product line that transports sodium hydroxide liquid from a rail car to a 275-gallon tote tank. The nozzle came out of the tote and sprayed sodium hydroxide onto the employee's face. The employee was hospitalized with chemical burns to their face, mouth, and neck.

An employee was working with sulfuric acid as part of the production process. While transferring the chemical from a large container to a smaller container, it splashed on his body and hand, resulting in a chemical burn.

An employee knelt in wet concrete while performing work as a concrete finisher and sustained a chemical burn to the right shin. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

An employee was using a 5-gallon bucket to unload acid product from a tank. Residual product leaked into the containment area, causing the employee to sustain first- and second-degree burns to the chest, as well as third-degree burns to the arms.

An employee was transferring an alkaline cleaning chemical from a bulk container into 1-gallon containers. The employee lifted a gallon container by its label tag. The tag broke causing the container to fall approximately 14-18 inches. The container struck the ground and the contents splashed onto the employee causing chemical burns to their eyes.

An employee was shoveling excess material (spillage) that consisted of dry mix, sand, aggregate and cement. As he was shoveling, some material blew back in his face and around his safety glasses. He got a piece of metal in his left eye that required surgery. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was spotting the dust auger as it was lowered onto the trailer so that it would not contact a piece of equipment already on the trailer and pinch electrical cords. As the auger was being moved into place horizontally, his thumb was caught between two brackets, one on the auger and one on a piece of equipment already on the trailer. The employee sustained a partial amputation to the left thumb.

A temporary employee was bending rebar on a bending table (machine) when his right little finger got caught in the rollers. The employee sustained an amputation down to the first knuckle below the fingernail.

At 10:00 a.m., an employee was preparing to cut lumber for an A-frame structure using a compound miter saw when the saw kicked back and contacted his left hand. The employee sustained complete amputation of the thumb and a partial amputation of the index finger.

An employee was unloading a bundle of quartz slabs from a truck bed using a forklift and lifting slings. The employee was standing on the truck bed to secure the slings to the bundle when one of the two A-frames supporting the bundle fell over. The employee jumped off the truck bed to avoid being hit, causing them to strike the ground and sustain fractures to their left hip, femur, and elbow.

An employee was helping a coworker transport a tall palm tree with a mini skid steer. The employee was severely shocked by a high-voltage electrical wire above the ground.

An employee was retrieving a Christmas tree from a shelf using a ladder. He missed a step and fell to the concrete floor. He sustained injury to his head and wrist.

An employee was inspecting a generator whose radiator was leaking. He slipped, and a fan blade in the generator amputated his thumb and index finger.

An employee was operating an agricultural tractor during sugarcane harvesting. The employee sustained a lumbar sprain due to vibration or motion from the tractor.

An employee was moving a 3-ton condensing unit, strapped down on a dolly, out of a garage. The strap broke, causing the employee to fall backward onto the brick pavered driveway. The employee suffered injury to a spinal ligament in the neck.