State Metal Industries, Inc.

An employee was operating a forklift. They exited the forklift to adjust the container that catches material dropping out of the dross cooler and the forklift pinned their left foot against the metal container. The employee sustained contusions and lacerations that required surgery.

An employee was welding in a work area when a skid steer turned and struck a maintenance employee on the back. They sustained neck injuries.

An employee was passing through a building when she suffered an allergic reaction to a cinnamon air freshener. The employee began to feel dizzy and ill, ultimately becoming unresponsive. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee wearing a blasting hood was preparing to blast inside a tank. The line that supplies the hood with breathing air was plugged into an argon line. The employee breathed the argon gas and fell. The employee was hospitalized for argon poisoning.

An employee was preparing a pump for maintenance. When the employee removed a cover, chemicals were released into the air. The employee was exposed to hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan and was hospitalized.

An employee was exposed to carbon monoxide that was leaking from a kiln. The employee lost consciousness and was hospitalized.

An employee was inside a trailer with a running lawn mower and sustained carbon monoxide poisoning.

An employee was monitoring a conveyor at the operator station. A piece of metal was fed to a conveyor system and it struck another piece of metal, causing a piece of titanium (1-inch-long and 1/2-inch-wide) to break off and strike the employee in their upper chest below the clavicle. The employee was hospitalized and the embedded piece of metal was surgically removed.

An employee was working by the slag side of a reverb in the furnace department. They returned home after the end of their shift and began feeling muscle cramps, resulting in hospitalization due to dehydration.

An employee had been working in the refinery area of the facility. He then began to feel dizzy and suffered other heat illness symptoms. He was hospitalized for possible heat stress.

On May 14, 2025, an employee was sitting cross-legged and removing a pneumatic rail car vibrator from its bracket to empty the next pocket in the rail car. When the employee went to set the vibrator down, he placed it on a hammer that was sitting in front of him and the vibrator teetered to the side, catching his little finger. The employee sustained an amputated fingertip at the first knuckle.

An employee was opening a railcar compartment using a wrench when the tool broke and the employee slipped and fell to the same level. The employee sustained a fractured lower right leg.

An employee tripped over a stool and fell on the floor, resulting in a left displaced mid-cervical femoral neck fracture.

An employee was installing fence posts when they stepped into a recently dug hole that was not visible due to rainfall. The employee's leg was fractured.

An employee assisted in cleaning material from a conveyor pit. After the pit was cleaned, the employee proceeded to replace metal safety plates to ensure other employees did not fall into the pit. While replacing one of the last plates, the employee mis-stepped and fell approximately 5 feet into the pit. The employee was hospitalized with back/side bruising, elbow bruising, bone bruises, and/or fractured ribs.

An employee was inspecting a breaker box and turning on/off a circuit breaker when he was electrocuted.

An employee was walking on the sidewalk. When they stepped off the curb, they fell to the ground, resulting in fractures to their tibia, fibula, and a metatarsal.