Exposure to environmental heat · Effects of heat and light, n.e.c.
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Wanzek Construction, Inc., 25498 FM 3142, SAN PERLITA, TEXAS 78590
on — Effects of heat and light, n.e.c., affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
An employee developed heat illness at a wind turbine erection work site. The employee was hospitalized, suffering from heat-related muscle injury.
During crane assembly, an employee's left middle finger was caught in a bridle pin while trying to move counterweights, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
A crew was working on assembling/disassembling a crawler crane. The injured employee was removing the becket pin from the crane block. When the pin came out of the hole, the becket dropped onto his right middle fingertip, resulting in amputation.
An employee dropped a bolt which then went into a small hole. The employee reached down to retrieve the bolt and was bitten by an Eastern cottonmouth snake. The employee was hospitalized.
Employees were aligning an electrical cabinet on a deck inside the entrance to a wind turbine. They were using a come-along, connected to an anchor at the base of the tower, to position the cabinet at the center of the tower. While an employee was checking for proper positioning, the cabinet moved toward the tower wall and his right index finger was caught in the 1/2-inch gap between them. The fingertip was amputated.
At 8:30 p.m. on June 7, 2022, an employee became ill while working with a crew to adjust solar dampeners. He was hospitalized that afternoon for heat illness and a heat-related muscle injury. On the day before, he was installing dampeners for 10 hours and experienced symptoms of heat illness.
An employee was performing finishing work on a residential driveway when they began to experience body cramps and were hospitalized for heat stress and dehydration.
An agent was participating in SWAT team selection and was performing various physical fitness skills including running and exercise intervals. The agent experienced dehydration and a muscular injury that required hospitalization.
On September 26, 2023, an employee was delivering packages when he began to feel ill with a pain in his side. He was hospitalized for heat exhaustion and dehydration.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 237990)
A crew was installing drilled micropiles alongside an outdoor covered deck foundation. The injured employee was working the front of the drill when a loose section of casing dropped onto the tip of a rig wrench and pulled the wrench down to an embedded casing. The employee's left little finger was caught between the rig wrench and the embedded casing and was amputated above the top knuckle.
An employee was standing on an extension ladder, using a torquing tool to remove bolts that secured blades to a rotor. When the torquing tool activated, its reaction arm came around and pinched the employee's right middle finger against a lifting eye. His fingertip was amputated.
Employees were securing the fuel line of an outboard motor in preparation for removing the motor from a small vessel located in the equipment yard. A gasoline-related fire occurred and one employee sustained burns to both hands and forearms.
A marine diver/construction worker was working underwater, using a hydraulic dredge to clear sediment away from the base of a dam. The dredge's suction nozzle began migrating toward him, and then pulled in his right hand and forearm. He sustained compartment syndrome in the hand and forearm.
An employee was standing on a sheet of -inch by 4-foot by 8-foot plywood on top of a rebar mat, supervising his crew. As he was moving to alert the crew to an incoming overhead load, he stepped off the plywood and his left foot slipped through the rebar mat and landed on the rebar mat below. His left ankle was broken and dislocated.
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.