Struck by discharged object or substance · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Airgas Store, 1250 West Washington Street, WEST CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60185
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
On November 6, 2021, an employee was using a wrench to release pressure from a carbon dioxide supply pipe. The pipe had been venting and it suddenly stopped. As the employee was checking the pipe, it disconnected and smashed his right index, middle, and ring fingers. The employee suffered bruises too all three fingers and an amputated middle fingertip.
An employee was installing wood trim surrounding a skylight inside a home. While holding a piece of trim in it's desired location, his pneumatic nail gun discharged, sending a 3/4-inch pin nail into his left forearm.
An employee removed a safety valve on a trailer that unknowingly contained nitrogen gas. The gas released from the trailer and pushed the employee backward off a scaffold approximately 10 feet before they struck a garage door, resulting in a pelvic injury.
An employee was sitting at her workstation when a nail gun malfunctioned and shot a nail into her left leg. She suffered a puncture and blood vessel injury and was hospitalized.
On November 25, 2023, an employee was using a high-pressured water hose to perform sewer line cleaning operations. The employee's right little finger and palm were lacerated by pressurized water from the hose.
An employee was standing on the back of a flatbed truck while a forklift was being used to load a shelving unit onto the truck. The shelving unit slid off and struck the employee, who suffered contusions to the head and collarbone area.
An employee was operating an order picker that was raised 20 inches when they stepped backward and fell off the platform to the concrete floor. The employee struck their head on the floor, resulting in hospitalization with a head injury.
An employee was operating a side loader designed for narrow aisles to pick up pans filled with steel, which include 12-foot pans and others with 20-24 foot pans. The employee pulled the required amounts from the pans using a crane, and then packed and labeled the items for shipment to the loading dock. The side loader struck a pan, causing the cab to detach and land on the employee's leg, resulting in a fracture.
A delivery driver was helping a customer unload a strut. The banding around the strut broke loose and lacerated the employee's lower left leg. The employee was hospitalized and required stitches and surgery to repair the patellar tendon.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.