Fall through surface or existing opening 16 to 20 feet · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Morton Buildings, Inc. , 2385 Gooseberry Rd., SHARON SPRINGS, KANSAS 67758
on — Fractures, affecting the hip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was installing a roof on a building. He was carrying a roof sheet up to the peak when a purlin broke underfoot. The employee fell to the ground about 20 feet below, suffering a broken hip.
HospitalizedHip(s)Roof surfaces other than roof edge
An employee was working on a second-level roof area. He jumped down to a porch roof, fell through it, and struck the ground. He suffered broken bones and was hospitalized.
At 1:00 p.m. on July 26, 2022, an employee was three rungs from the top of an 8-foot ladder. The ladder shifted and he fell to the ground, breaking his left leg.
On February 21, 2022, an employee was using a tractor to push snow off and away from a dolly axle. The employee had shoveled most of the snow when they got off the tractor and positioned the bucket so they could slide the axle into the bucket. As the employee was trying to tip the axle into the bucket, their foot slipped on the ice and snow. When the employee fell, the I-beam on the axle crushed their hand against the side of the bucket, resulting in an injury to their finger.
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.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 236220)
The injured employee was standing behind a table. She jumped out to scare another employee, but tripped and fell on the tile floor, injuring her right ankle/foot. She was hospitalized with a dislocated ankle that required surgery.
An employee was installing insulation in a wall when she tripped on a hole (12" deep) and fell, hitting her head on the concrete floor. The employee sustained fractures to her leg and wrist, and lacerations to her head. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was loading a 4-inch wooden door into a pickup truck when he felt a pop in his right side behind his shoulder blade. He was hospitalized later that day and underwent surgery, having suffered a collapsed right lung.
An employee was working to remove a product blockage from a piece of equipment. The employee was struck by a metal bar near the deck of the pin mixer equipment and sustained blunt force trauma to the torso.
An employee was moving a rack onto a lower conveyor in the south heat treat area when their finger got caught between the part tray and the rollers, resulting in a fingertip fracture and amputation.
An employee was climbing a ladder to get on top of the breakroom. The ladder slipped, causing him to fall to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to his upper back, left foot, and ankle.
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.