O'Brien Steel Service Co.

An employee was straightening a stack of materials (including steel flats, channels, and beams) on a cart. He was using a crane with a magnet. While he was "locking" the magnet, the crane pulled a 1,400-pound bundle of channel off the stack that struck his left leg. He was hospitalized and required surgery to the leg.

On March 18, 2025, an employee was stacking parts using an overhead crane equipped with an electromagnet when their left ring finger got caught in a pinch point between the parts, resulting in a fingertip amputation.

An employee was cleaning a band saw when his glove got caught on the blade, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger to the second knuckle.

An employee was operating a belt grinder/sander to remove slag from the edges of a steel part when the sanding belt contacted the employee's right ring finger and sanded through their protective gloves. The employee suffered a partial amputation to the distal joint and was hospitalized.

On February 9, 2023, an employee was using an overhead crane to remove a bundle of cold finish rounds (steel bars) from a vertical storage pan to place the bundle on a work table for packaging and shipment. The storage pan was on the forks of a forklift parked near the work table. The end of the bundle was raised approximately 3 feet above the pan when the chain slipped off allowing the bundle to fall back into the pan. This caused the pan and bundle to fall off the forklift. The edge of the pan scraped down his shin and landed on his left foot. The employee was hospitalized with a broken foot.

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 fell while entering the building. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured ankle and required surgery.

An employee was doing a cable change on top of an electric overhead traveling (EOT) crane. They were positioned between the cable drum and the drive shaft. While rotating the cable drum, the employee reached for the new cable that was to be installed. The grease fitting on the drive shaft caught their fall harness and pulled them underneath the drive shaft. The employee was pinned between the drive shaft and two pieces of angle steel, resulting in a fracture to their left hip.

An employee was working to close a furnace door. The hydraulic mechanism that opens and closes the furnace door was non-operational and had been disconnected to allow the furnace door to be opened manually. As the employee was releasing the pins that held the door open, the door and the hydraulic cylinder fell, pinching their left hand between the hydraulic cylinder's base plate and the furnace. The employee suffered amputation of the little fingertip.

A rolling mill was shut down due to a cobble between two mill stands. The injured employee was cleaning the cobble from the delivery side of stand A, while another employee went to the control panel to move stand B and stand A moved instead. The injured employee's right thumb got caught between the delivery guide of stand A and the looper trough. The tip of his thumb required surgical amputation to the bone to allow for stitches.

An employee was helping another employee load stock material onto a press brake when the stock slipped. The injured employee's right index finger was caught between the press brake die and the stock, resulting in amputation at the first knuckle.

The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.

An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.

A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.

An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.

An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.