Struck by object or equipment rolling freely · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at TEXAS STEEL CONVERSION, 3101 HOLMES RD., HOUSTON, TEXAS 77051
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was trying to unjam 1,700-pound steel pipes. A pipe rolled back and crushed his fingers against another pipe. His left little finger was amputated and the ring finger was injured, requiring stitches.
An employee was color coding the ends of pipes with spray paint. A pipe got stuck on the flapper that moves the pipes up to the table. The employee went to clear the pipe and another pipe fell back on his right arm, causing a laceration that required hospitalization.
An employee was feeding a 25-foot pipe into an inbound punch straightener. The employee was positioning the pipe with a cheater bar with his right hand on the cheater bar and his left hand on the railing of the punch straightener. The pipe contacted the employee's left thumb on the railing, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was visually inspecting the liner plates. While conducting the inspection, the employee's gloved right hand was caught in the machine roller resulting in a crushing injury to the hand. The machine was not guarded at the time of the incident.
An employee was threading a pipe on a CNC lathe. The machine activated while he was holding a piece of sand paper between the chuck and the pipe. His right middle finger was amputated.
An employee was connecting a dolly to a trailer. The equipment rolled away, causing the employee's left index finger to be crushed between the trailer and the dolly. The employee sustained amputation of the fingertip.
On October 17, 2023, at 9:55 p.m., an employee was working on a ramp while moving merchandise from a cargo loader to a dolly. The employee was putting the locks on the dolly and transferring a unit load device containing packages when she realized the lock was in the down position. As she attempted to fix the lock, the unit load device started moving toward the dolly, and the employee became wedged between the dolly and the device. The employee suffered an injury to her lower left leg.
Two employees were shaking out steel beams and standing them vertically. One beam was hit, causing the other beams to fall. A beam then rolled over an employee's left shin and fractured it. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 332811)
On October 7, 2025, an employee was pulling a customer load out of post-wash equipment when his left index finger was pinched between the sled and the roller on the charge cart conveyor, resulting in a fingertip amputation between the nail and first joint.
An employee was welding a bearing on a piece of equipment. He was lying on the belt while performing this task. The welding rod contacted the employee or the belt and the employee was shocked by electricity. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was lighting a pilot light that burns off residual oxygen in the purge chamber of a heat-treating furnace. Residual gas and built-up oxygen in the purge chamber caused an explosion, which blew the front of the furnace's door off its track and the hood/exhaust system off its rivets. The employee was knocked down and suffered burns and lacerations to the left side of his face.
A temporary employee was moving a load using a walk-behind powered industrial vehicle (PIV). He backed into a safety bollard and his leg was pinned between the PIV and the bollard, resulting in a crush injury and laceration to the lower leg. The employee was hospitalized for surgery.
An employee was setting up a work piece on the honing machine when his left hand fingers were crushed in a pinch point. The employee sustained an amputation of the distal joint of his ring finger.
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.