Struck by dislodged flying object, particle · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at M.A. MORTENSON COMPANY, Sterling Ranch, LITTLETON, COLORADO 80125
on — Fractures, affecting the leg(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
Employees were conducting warranty repair on a residential sidewalk. A skid steer was being used to remove dirt while a section of sidewalk was repaired. A heavy clod of dirt from the skid steer struck one of the employees, breaking the employee's left leg.
An employee was lifting a 50-pound photovoltaic (PV) panel from a horizontal stack of PV panels on a pallet on the ground. The next panel in the stack tipped forward and hit the employee below the left kneecap, breaking the employee's lower leg.
While adjusting the forks of a forklift that were resting on a flatbed trailer, something shifted and the employee's left arm was crushed. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was holding a tagline during a lifting operation at a wind farm when a crop duster aircraft flew between the wind tower and tagline that the employee was holding. The aircraft struck the tagline, which caused the employee to be lifted into the air and subsequently land on his back on the ground. He suffered a fractured L1 vertebra.
An employee was tossing a damaged toilet into a compactor. The toilet bounced off the compactor and lacerated the employee's right wrist, cutting an artery and tendon.
An employee was operating a hydraulic jack to bend a frame when the jack came loose and struck the employee. They were hospitalized for a spleen injury.
A truck had been towed into the shop with a flat tire and a blown airbag. An employee checked the tire for damage and was airing the tire. The employee was installing the valve core when the bead slipped off the rim. Air escaped, and the aluminum wheel struck the employee's head and face. The employee became unresponsive and was bleeding.
On December 14, 2023, at 8:40 p.m., three employees were inspecting milling machines for startup. A few of the sleeves on the mill drum needed to be changed out. The injured employee was trying to input a sleeve on the mill drum using a hammer. The hammer hit the edge of the drum, which caused a metal piece to splinter off and strike the employee's cheek just below the left eye. The metal splinter embedded in the back of their eye socket, resulting in pain, swelling, and bleeding that required hospitalization.
An employee was pushing a line of carts into a vestibule when the door cable snapped and struck his right ankle. The employee suffered a fracture that required surgery and hospitalization.
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 delivering materials. He was doing his pre-delivery inspection on the roof of the jobsite (a warehouse) when he fell through a plexiglass skylight. He landed on his feet on the concrete floor 14 feet below. The employee sustained fractures to his spine, left ulnar/radius, and right heel. The employee required surgery.
An employee was removing packaging from a roll of printing substrate. The blade of their utility knife got stuck. The employee used both hands to free the knife and the blade partially amputated their left little fingertip.
A concrete batch plant operator was assisting with clearing spoil piles using a skid steer. The skid steer backed into a stationary screen plant. The employee's left little finger was crushed between the controls of the skid steer and the screen plant, resulting in a fracture and laceration. The employee's finger was surgically amputated.
An employee was standing on an extension ladder, using a torquing tool to remove bolts that secured blades to a rotor. When the torquing tool activated, its reaction arm came around and pinched the employee's right middle finger against a lifting eye. His fingertip was amputated.