Struck by object or equipment rolling freely · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Werner Enterprises, Inc., 11291 NW 87th Court, HIALEAH GARDENS, FLORIDA 33018
on — Fractures, affecting the ankle(s).
Final narrative
An employee was lowering a wheeled, steel cage filled with merchandise from the tailgate of a truck. When the tailgate made contact with the ground, the cage shifted and rolled off the gate, striking the employee's left ankle and resulting in a fracture that required hospitalization and surgery.
An employee parked a commercial motor vehicle at a truck stop. The employee slipped while exiting the vehicle and fell to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured left distal humerus.
An employee was releasing the 5th wheel level on the hitch when the parking brake was released. The truck tire ran over the employee's foot causing open lacerations and fractures.
An employee was in the rear of delivery truck unloading rolling metal cages containing merchandise. As the employee lowered a container to the ground with a lift gate, it began tipping over. The employee extended his right arm to prevent the load from falling and his right little finger was caught between the rolling cage and the trailer door frame. He sustained an open fracture to the right little finger.
An employee was connecting a dolly to a trailer. The equipment rolled away, causing the employee's left index finger to be crushed between the trailer and the dolly. The employee sustained amputation of the fingertip.
On October 17, 2023, at 9:55 p.m., an employee was working on a ramp while moving merchandise from a cargo loader to a dolly. The employee was putting the locks on the dolly and transferring a unit load device containing packages when she realized the lock was in the down position. As she attempted to fix the lock, the unit load device started moving toward the dolly, and the employee became wedged between the dolly and the device. The employee suffered an injury to her lower left leg.
Two employees were shaking out steel beams and standing them vertically. One beam was hit, causing the other beams to fall. A beam then rolled over an employee's left shin and fractured it. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 484121)
An employee fell while exiting a trailer. The employee landed on their left side on the pavement, suffering multiple broken ribs on the left side. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was hooking up a set of 28-foot trailers, attaching a converter dolly to the lead trailer's pintle hook. He backed up the lead trailer and parked it a foot from the converter dolly, then lifted the converter dolly and rolled it to the lead trailer to set it onto the hook. The converter dolly kicked up, and the employee's left hand was caught between it and the trailer. He suffered a severe laceration to the palm between the ring finger and middle finger.
An employee was cleaning the windshield of his truck. When he stepped down from the truck, he lost balance and reached to catch himself using the side mirror. The impact fractured his left wrist. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was standing on the DOT bumper on the back of a standard 53-foot trailer. The employee lost his footing and his grip on the handle bar, and fell approximately 42 inches to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured left hip/femur.
A driver was making a delivery. As he was climbing onto his trailer to get boxes, the strap he was using to pull himself up broke. He fell from the back of the trailer to the ground, landing on his right leg and breaking his femur.
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 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.