Fall through surface or existing opening less than 6 feet · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Hazlehurst Wood Pellets, LLC, 142 McPherson Drive, HAZLEHURST, GEORGIA 31539
on — Fractures, affecting the shoulder(s), including clavicle(s), scapula(e).
Final narrative
An employee completed repairs on an electric motor under a platform and was replacing the grate covering of the motor housing area. As the employee picked up and moved the grate cover, an air line was struck and cut in half. The employee attempted to shut the air off and stepped through the opening of the motor housing area. The employee fell approximately two feet, resulting in a fractured left shoulder.
HospitalizedShoulder(s), including clavicle(s), scapula(e)Existing floor opening
More severe injuries at Hazlehurst Wood Pellets, LLC
On February 5, 2022, at 12:00 a.m., an employee was attempting to unclog a screw motor when the bolts to the frame holding the screw motor broke, causing the frame to tilt over and strike the employee on the left upper leg. The employee suffered contusions on the right upper leg and a broken left upper leg that required surgery.
The injured employee was standing by a bag house that that was approximately 27 feet away from where a discharge pipe was discharging wood pellets. A fire came out of the pipe and back flashed through a cooler and back through the piping system to the bag house where an explosion occurred. The employee sustained burns to the arms, neck, and torso.
A temporary employee walked across a wooden pallet to retrieve product to stock. When he walked back across the pallet, it broke, causing the employee to fall to the ground and sustain a fractured hip.
On April 10, 2023, at 12:00 PM, an employee was using a broom to clear rock from a building's foundation in preparation for a spray-on vapor barrier. There was a 4-foot deep trench next to the building where the employee was working and the soil at the trench's edge fell away. The employee fell into the trench and was hospitalized for a left pelvis and/or femur fracture.
An employee was walking up a steel staircase to check wiring in the electrical room. The staircase had a top platform with a grate that was sitting across the beams of the platform. The grate had shifted and as the employee stepped on it, it gave way, causing him to fall approximately 3 feet to the ground below. The grate landed on the employee and he was hospitalized for four transverse process fractures in the lower spine.
An employee was stocking the freezer and stepped on a wood pallet. The employee's foot went into the pallet and they sustained a right ankle fracture that required hospitalization and surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 321999)
An employee was using a telehandler to move pallets of pellets from a pod. The employee exited the telehandler to pick up a sacrificial pallet that is placed under the bottom layer of pallets. When the employee turned to pull the pallet away, the top two tiers of the pod fell on him. The employee sustained a fractured ankle, three fractured ribs, and fractured vertebrae.
An employee was preparing to replace a belt on a fan drive assembly. He went to manually stop the fan and was caught by the belt. His hand was pulled into the machine and his left little fingertip was amputated.
An employee was cutting remanufactured lumber with a chainsaw when a board fell and struck his left hand, causing his left hand to move off the chainsaw. While he was moving his hand back, the chainsaw kicked back and lacerated the top of his left hand. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was helping to lift the grating from a floor draining system when the grating slipped and landed on his hand, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger at the first joint.
During a workshop meeting in a hotel, an employee heard a drilling noise, so he walked outside to see what it was. An explosion occurred (possible gas line) and his face, ear, and hair were burned. He also fell and sustained a pelvic fracture.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.