Cleveland - Cliffs Cleveland Works, LLC

A maintenance electrical technician was troubleshooting a fault on the steel plant's water treatment river water pump when their left middle finger got caught in a knife gate valve. Their fingertip was partially amputated.

At about 2:15 p.m. on September 3, 2021, employee 1 was assisting in the placement of the jib extension back onto the cradle position for transport. Employee 1 was standing on the work platform near the crane cab. Employee 2 was at the front of the crane where the jib extension was secured to the crane itself. Employee 3 was on the ground at the front of the crane. The crane operator was inside the cab. Employee 2 attempted to free the extension from the crane itself and knocked out the remaining pin securing the extension. This action caused the extension to fall from the crane. The falling extension may have struck employee 1 before he fell to the ground below the work platform. Employee 2 was knocked off the ladder and also fell to the ground. Employee 1 sustained a shoulder fracture and contusion.

An employee was using a crane. The hook slipped and a fitting fell onto a finger on the employee's left hand causing a fracture and laceration.

An employee was transporting an 800-pound die on a cart from the tool room. The employee was pulling the cart when it struck a metal plate on the floor. This caused the cart to tip forward and the die to slide off the cart. The die struck the employee's left foot and their second toe was amputated.

An employee was using a forklift to load pallets of product on a trailer. He exited the forklift to adjust a pallet by hand. The pallet fell on him, resulting in an injury to the left leg.

An employee was lifting a 500-pound steel counterweight off a pallet using a magnetic hold jib crane. The counterweight detached from the crane and the employee sustained a left foot/toe fracture that required surgery.

An employee was using a pipe wrench to turn a 42-foot-long steel pipe on jack stands to weld the bottom portion. The pipe fell off the stands, striking the injured employee on his left shin. The employee sustained a left leg fracture at the shin area as well as a tibia fracture that required surgery.

An employee used a crane to set down a bar. The bar measured 9 inches by 16 feet. The strap got stuck under the bar, and the employee asked another employee to jog the roll. The bar rolled and pinched the injured employee's left hand, resulting in a fingertip amputation.

An employee was loading a steel forming machine with steel to be processed. He went to move a cooling hose out of the way and his left thumb was crushed by the forming roller, resulting in injuries that required surgical amputation.

An employee was advancing a rail to line up for welding with a secondary rail on the weld line when his right middle and ring fingers were caught between the rails. The employee sustained an amputation to the top knuckle of the middle finger and a fracture to the ring finger. The machine was guarded at the time.

An employee was working near molten metal and experienced heat illness symptoms including cramps. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was preparing bundles of 24-foot square metal tubing to be loaded onto a truck and cut the safety band for a bundle. While the employee was removing a piece of dunnage from a bundle, they bumped the bundle with their leg. The metal tubing then fell forward and struck the employee, causing a fractured left ankle.

An employee was working to deliver mail to an apartment building. She was waiting for a customer to move, to obtain clearance to the mailboxes. The door swung inward and closed on her right little finger. The top half of her finger was surgically amputated.

An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.

On October 30, 2025, an employee was working to adjust a stackable metal shipping container. As the container dropped into place, it caught the employee's hands in an area between the upper and lower cross-members. The employee suffered a laceration to the left ring finger that required stitches, bruising to the right ring finger, and fractures to the right middle finger that necessitated medical amputation of the fingertip.

An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.

An employee was setting up communication equipment for a meeting. They were walking and tripped over a speaker on the ground. The employee sustained a leg injury.