Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Abilene Machine, LLC., 407 Old Highway 40, SOLOMON, KANSAS 67480
on — Fractures, affecting the lower leg(s).
Final narrative
An employee was standing at a receiving workstation, performing tasks on a moveable hydraulic lifting table. A forklift struck the hydraulic table, causing the employee to suffer a broken tibia.
HospitalizedLower leg(s)Forklift, order picker, platform truck-powered
An employee was outside a building, walking with a cane, when he tripped on some pallets and fell forward. He suffered two broken arms that required surgery.
An employee was trying to start a pulley by hand when the pulley grabbed and pulled the employee's right ring finger between the pulley and belt, resulting in an amputation of the finger.
Two employees were walking through the warehouse behind a forklift that was moving pallets of 30-foot metal bottom bars. When the forklift reversed, the top of the forklift struck a box of metal bottom bars on top of racking, causing the box to fall and strike the two employees. They were both taken to the hospital; one employee was treated and released without being admitted. The other employee was hospitalized with a fractured left orbital bone and an injured right knee.
The injured employee was spray painting lay flat shipping reels while another employee was picking up the reels with a telehandler after they were painted. The telehandler bumped a reel, causing other reels to fall. The injured employee was caught between the reels, resulting in broken left femur.
An employee was installing an aerial drop cable across a roadway. The employee was on a ladder positioned against a telephone pole. Cable had been installed on one side of the roadway. The employee was making the connection to the pole on the opposite side of the roadway when a box truck contacted the cable, causing the employee to fall onto the grass of the customer's yard. The employee sustained broken ribs and was hospitalized.
An employee was performing routine housekeeping duties when a bale of plastic bottles slid off the forks of a forklift that was backing out of a trailer. The bale struck the employee, pushing her into another machine. The employee suffered a fractured rib and punctured lung.
An employee was using a 4-by-4 to straighten a pack of wood. A forklift nudged the 4-by-4, which caused the employee's right hand to be caught between it and the pack of wood. The employee suffered a partial amputation to the right ring finger.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 333111)
An employee was climbing up a fixed ladder alongside a building to inspect a roof leak. The employee fell off the ladder and landed on the ground about 15 feet below. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to both wrists.
On September 16, 2025, an employee went to pull a weld stand when he tripped and fell, landing on the floor on his right hip. The employee suffered hip and fibula fractures that required hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was accessing a tensioned hook that required a hoist mechanism to be engaged. He was unhooking the lift hook from a shelf column when the "up" button was pressed, which released the tension on the pneumatic air hoist. The employee's right index finger was caught between the hook and the column, resulting in a soft tissue amputation and fracture to the fingertip.
A crane was lifting a pole out of a zinc bath in the galvanizing department when the chain attached to the pole broke. The pole fell back into the bath and liquid zinc splashed onto an employee, who suffered third-degree burns to an arm, the abdomen, the torso, the upper left side of the chest, an ear, the neck, and a hand.
An employee was working to remove a product blockage from a piece of equipment. The employee was struck by a metal bar near the deck of the pin mixer equipment and sustained blunt force trauma to the torso.
An employee was moving a rack onto a lower conveyor in the south heat treat area when their finger got caught between the part tray and the rollers, resulting in a fingertip fracture and amputation.
An employee was climbing a ladder to get on top of the breakroom. The ladder slipped, causing him to fall to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to his upper back, left foot, and ankle.
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.