Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Menard, Inc., 3435 West Losan Avenue, EAU CLAIRE, WISCONSIN 54701
on — Soreness, pain, hurt-nonspecified injury, affecting the back, including spine, spinal cord, unspecified.
Final narrative
At 6:00 p.m. on July 7, 2022, an employee suffered a back injury while adjusting tines on a forklift. He was hospitalized.
HospitalizedBack, including spine, spinal cord, unspecifiedForklift, order picker, platform truck-powered
An employee was doing a cutback on a piece of lumber using a chop saw. The saw hit a knot, the piece of lumber buckled, then kicked back and broke the kickback guard. The board was then pulled back into the blade, which lacerated the employee's left index and middle fingers.
An employee was adjusting self-dumping steel hopper to get it to latch onto the tines of a forklift. He rocked the hopper back and forth to dump. The hopper slid off the forklift and fell about 2-3 feet down onto his legs. The employee sustained a cut on his head, a bruise on his face, and both his ankles were fractured.
An employee was descending a rolling ladder and missed the last step, falling backward to the floor and striking her head. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to her head and leg.
On December 2, 2024, an employee was placing stickers on boxes coming down the conveyor line. The employee went to grab a sticker off the printer when her foot became caught on the floorboard seam, causing her to trip and fall. The employee sustained a fractured left hip.
An employee completed a shift during which she moved patient beds and stretchers. While at home, the employee experienced back pain and went to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with spinal fractures.
An employee was lifting and carrying a heavy box. After putting the box down, the employee had back pain and weakness in their left leg. They were hospitalized, having suffered a back sprain.
An employee was working on the wharf recouping lumber boards (2x4s and 2x6s that can vary from 8' to 16' in length) from bundles that had become misplaced when they sustained a right rotator cuff tear requiring hospitalization.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 444110)
The injured employee was walking through the warehouse. Another associate was driving a forklift with a pallet of large format tile (slabs) when the slabs began to tip. The injured employee ran over to stop the slabs from falling, but the slabs fell on his lower left leg/foot. The employee sustained fractures in his lower leg and foot. He was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was doing a cutback on a piece of lumber using a chop saw. The saw hit a knot, the piece of lumber buckled, then kicked back and broke the kickback guard. The board was then pulled back into the blade, which lacerated the employee's left index and middle fingers.
On October 16, 2025, an employee was entering a parking lot after completing their work shift when they were struck by a vehicle being operated by a customer. The employee fell backward from the impact and the back of their head struck the asphalt. The employee was hospitalized due to brain bleed and a skull fracture.
On September 24, 2025, an employee was using a sledgehammer to straighten the forks on a forklift when a piece of metal broke off the fork and became lodged in the employee's leg. The employee was hospitalized.
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.
An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.