Fall or jump curtailed by personal fall arrest system · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Phoenix Fabricators and Erectors, LLC, 40 Tower Ln, BLOOMSDALE, MISSOURI 63627
on — Fractures, affecting the foot (feet) and ankle(s).
Final narrative
An employee was installing scaffolding on top of a steel water tower when they fell 14 feet 10 inches to the ground below. A self-retracting lifeline was used, but the employee's right foot contacted the ground, resulting in a fractured foot and ankle that required hospitalization and surgery.
HospitalizedFoot (feet) and ankle(s)Towers, poles, n.e.c.
More severe injuries at Phoenix Fabricators and Erectors, LLC
An employee was walking along a trench inspecting the trench box in the excavation when he tripped and fell toward the trench. As the employee was falling head-first into the trench, he attempted to get a hold of the fall protection cable. The cable then looped around his left hand and the employee fell approximately 8 feet into the trench before the fall protection engaged. The employee suffered amputations of his left index, middle, ring, and little fingers.
A ranger was performing back-country patrol duties while hiking. As they were climbing a technical rock patch, a rock handhold broke, causing the employee to fall approximately 15 feet before their belay engaged. The employee contacted a rock, resulting in a fracture to the right ilium as well as a subcutaneous hematoma to the right gluteal region.
Employees were erecting structural steel. The injured employee was sitting on a 12" wide horizontal member and lining up an I-beam brace as it was suspended by an overhead crane. He leaned left to push the end of the brace. The end of the suspended brace swung away from him, causing him to lose balance and fall 8 feet. His personal fall arrest system arrested his fall, but he swung into a piece of duct work during the fall that resulted in a concussion.
On September 12, 2022, an employee was on a metal roof, installing a standing seam and insulation. He lost his balance and fell toward the third floor slab, which was 10 feet from the roof. His fall protection caught him and left him suspended about 2 to 4 feet from the slab. He suffered a brain bleed and a spinal fracture in his lower back. He was hospitalized.
An employee was working from a bucket lift, removing a tree in sections. He lost his balance while pushing on a section and fell. His fall protection caught him and he swung into a tree, suffering an injury that caused head, neck, and leg pain, as well as loss of consciousness while he was at the hospital.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 332420)
An employee was standing on a 10-inch high working platform (36.75"x24"x10") verifying that tanks were being picked up properly by an overhead conveyor. The employee turned and was stepping off the platform when their left work boot caught the edge of the platform. The employee fell to the concrete floor and landed on their right side. The employee's right hip was fractured.
An employee was working on a vessel, attaching the base plate ring to the legs, when the base plate shifted about 3 inches. The employee's right foot became pinned between the base plate and the floor. Three toes were crushed. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery, resulting in partial amputation of their toe tips.
Two employees were constructing a 30-foot-tall aboveground storage tank, fitting a double roof on the tank. Half of the roof had been stitch-welded to the tank, and the employees were fitting/tacking down the second half of the roof, when the roof shifted and fell in. One employee fell and sustained fractures to their right foot and shin. The second employee suffered a broken back. Both employees required hospitalization.
Two employees engaged in a verbal altercation. The injured employee was punched in the face and fell, hitting their head on the concrete floor. The employee sustained a brain bleed and blunt force trauma to the face.
An employee was readjusting a safety hook to remove hardware from gang forms when his feet slipped. He fell to the ground, resulting in a broken left arm and wrist.
An employee was on a step ladder in a store aisle, making room on shelving for merchandise. She fell from the step ladder to the floor, suffering two fractures in her left leg. She was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was closing the side cargo door to a company van. The tip of his finger got caught between the door and the door jamb, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee lost his footing while climbing an inclined ladder. He stumbled down one step and was able to stabilize himself by holding the railing and twisting his body, but he suffered an internal abdominal injury and was hospitalized.