Air-Ref Co. Inc. Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Electric

On November 16, 2023, at around 3:30 p.m., a subcontracted employee was painting a door jam on a three-story house when he fell 20 feet through an opened elevator shaft to the floor below. The employee sustained fractured vertebrae that required hospitalization.

Employees were removing and replacing skylights on a metal roof. The injured employee's lanyard became tangled and they fell through the skylight to the ground 16-18 feet below. The employee suffered fractures to the wrist, ribs, and hip.

An employee was requested by a client to string wire on top of an auditorium. He used a boom lift to access a beam and then exited the boom lift to walk on the beam. He then stepped down on a drop ceiling, lost balance, and fell. The drop ceiling caved in and the employee fell 20 feet onto bleachers sustaining injury to his abdominal area and lower left leg. The employee was wearing a harness, but it was not connected to an anchoring point at the time of the fall.

An employee was installing decking (steel grates) in a new construction steel framed building. The employees were working approximately 22' above the next lower level, which was a concrete ground floor. The decking was pre-cut with the floor opening prior to installation. Shortly after installing the floor opening, the employee fell through the floor opening, approximately 18' onto a section of metal ductwork, resulting in fractures to the skull, ribs, thorax, and lumbar vertebra, as well as an ear laceration.

An employee was taking measurements of an area for drywall when they stepped backward into a partially covered hole in the floor. The employee fell approximately 17 feet to the level below, sustaining a forehead fracture and avulsion, a right shoulder dislocation, a left forearm fracture, left knee tendon and meniscus tears, as well as multiple contusions and abrasions.

An employee was helping to move a 1,300-pound coil on a cart. The steel caster hit a crack in the concrete, the weld holding the caster onto the cart broke, and the coil and cart tipped over onto the employee. He was hospitalized with a laceration on his forehead and a pelvic fracture on his right side.

An employee was holding a piece of rubber while it was being cut on a band saw. The saw blade amputated his right middle fingertip without bone loss.

An employee was observing expansion rods on a coil expander going into a coil to ensure copper stubs weren't being bent. His left hand was caught between the locking block and locking block clamp on the power press machine, resulting in partial amputation of his left little finger from the distal interphalangeal joint.

An employee was setting up a press brake and rolling over a die when the tip of their left little finger was caught between the horizontal working surface of the press brake and die. The employee sustained partial amputation of their fingertip.

An employee was working to remove an access panel to begin performing maintenance on a machine. The set pins on the bottom of the panel were broken. The bottom kicked out and fell, striking the employee's left foot and resulting in a fracture to the big toe.

An employee was helping a coworker transport a tall palm tree with a mini skid steer. The employee was severely shocked by a high-voltage electrical wire above the ground.

An employee was retrieving a Christmas tree from a shelf using a ladder. He missed a step and fell to the concrete floor. He sustained injury to his head and wrist.

An employee was inspecting a generator whose radiator was leaking. He slipped, and a fan blade in the generator amputated his thumb and index finger.

An employee was operating an agricultural tractor during sugarcane harvesting. The employee sustained a lumbar sprain due to vibration or motion from the tractor.

An employee was moving a 3-ton condensing unit, strapped down on a dolly, out of a garage. The strap broke, causing the employee to fall backward onto the brick pavered driveway. The employee suffered injury to a spinal ligament in the neck.