Struck by discharged or flying object, unspecified · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Bennett Ranch Unit 3405, DENVER CITY, TEXAS 79323
on — Fractures, affecting the upper arm(s).
Final narrative
An employee was depressurizing an isolated section of piping in preparation to service a CO2 injection well meter. The 1/2-inch meter assembly piping parted and struck the employee, fracturing their right humerus.
An employee was bleeding down injection lines, using a 36-inch pipe wrench, to let hydrates thaw overnight. A valve was opened and pressure (about 900 psi) was released, causing a section of pipe to come loose and strike the employee's leg above the knee. He was hospitalized.
An employee was running pipe into a hole on a rig floor. He was still running the other joint into the hole when the laydown machine shot the joint of pipe. The pipe hit the employee in the jaw and he fell backward, suffering a fractured cheekbone.
An employee was in the yard area on a forklift pulling lumber. Inclement weather began and the employee stopped the forklift and was walking to a safe location when they were struck by flying debris from the high winds or tornado. The employee sustained a leg fracture.
After reassembly work on a ready-mix truck, an employee turned the truck on to check for leaks. The employee was standing on the truck platform, about 3 feet off the ground, when he heard an air leak. As he was turning off the truck, a flying bolt from the plate assembly struck his forehead and broke his skull. He was hospitalized.
An employee had been unloading tires from the back of a pickup truck. The employee went to step down out of the back of the pickup truck and stepped on the lift gate in a vertical position. The lift gate tipped and employee fell, impacting their side on the upright liftgate. The employee sustained five fractured ribs and a punctured right lung. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was working from the ground, connecting/disconnecting railcars within a storage yard. He was adjusting a railcar coupling with his foot. The employee's right foot was fractured and lacerated by the coupler as the railcars were coming together.
An employee was using a portable 3-inch centrifugal trash pump to move water from a unit slab containment to a tank. The water had a pH of 6.67. When the tank gauge showed that the elevations were not changing, it was determined the gas-operated pump had lost its prime, causing heat to generate due to the internal friction of the pump. The employee turned the pump off and blocked in the influent line. The discharge hose was then disconnected from the pump. When this disconnection occurred, hot water and steam were released from the pump and contacted with the employee. The employee suffered second-degree burns on their chest, stomach, thigh, and arm that required hospitalization.
An employee was making rounds to collect readings from petroleum tanks. He followed a pathway that had several ground-level protrusions from decommissioned pipe conduits, electrical grounding, and a support strut. The employee tripped on a conduit stub, lost his balance, and fell, landing on his left hip. He was hospitalized with a broken left hip.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.