Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at GOODYEAR TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY, 2000 NW HIGHWAY 24, TOPEKA, KANSAS 66601
on — Fractures, affecting the chest, except internal location of diseases or disorders.
Final narrative
An employee was buffing and repairing a horizontal tire when a nearby PIT struck a vertical leaning tire. The vertical tire fell onto the injured employee, pinning him between the two tires. He sustained rib fractures and pain in both knees and right shoulder.
HospitalizedChest, except internal location of diseases or disordersForklift, order picker, platform truck-powered
More severe injuries at GOODYEAR TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY
A tire fell behind the press. An employee was attempting to remove the tire from behind the press when the tire became caught between the mold can and guarding. Another employee lowered the mold can which caught the end of the injured employee's boot between the upper and lower mold rings, resulting in an amputation of four toes on the right foot.
An employee was repurposing a damaged flammable cabinet into a locker for their tools. They had the cabinet standing up with two non-rotating casters in place and went to pick it up so they could set it on a block in the upright position to work on the shelves when the cabinet shifted and fell on their right middle finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was operating a wire calender machine and was trying to remove rubber off the impression roll when they were contacted by the wire going over the impression roll. The ring and little fingers on his right hand were amputated, and the middle finger was partially amputated at the middle knuckle.
An employee was feeding rubber into the feed tray. While aligning the rubber, the employee's hand became caught by the screw resulting in amputation below the elbow.
An employee was performing training tasks on the bead unit. A bead wire began to wrap around the drum so the trainer cut the wire and reclosed the interlocked gate. The injured employee/trainee then went to clear the wire that was hanging from the drum and had their finger pinched between two of the chucks, resulting in a left index fingertip amputation.
Two employees were walking through the warehouse behind a forklift that was moving pallets of 30-foot metal bottom bars. When the forklift reversed, the top of the forklift struck a box of metal bottom bars on top of racking, causing the box to fall and strike the two employees. They were both taken to the hospital; one employee was treated and released without being admitted. The other employee was hospitalized with a fractured left orbital bone and an injured right knee.
The injured employee was spray painting lay flat shipping reels while another employee was picking up the reels with a telehandler after they were painted. The telehandler bumped a reel, causing other reels to fall. The injured employee was caught between the reels, resulting in broken left femur.
An employee was installing an aerial drop cable across a roadway. The employee was on a ladder positioned against a telephone pole. Cable had been installed on one side of the roadway. The employee was making the connection to the pole on the opposite side of the roadway when a box truck contacted the cable, causing the employee to fall onto the grass of the customer's yard. The employee sustained broken ribs and was hospitalized.
An employee was performing routine housekeeping duties when a bale of plastic bottles slid off the forks of a forklift that was backing out of a trailer. The bale struck the employee, pushing her into another machine. The employee suffered a fractured rib and punctured lung.
An employee was using a 4-by-4 to straighten a pack of wood. A forklift nudged the 4-by-4, which caused the employee's right hand to be caught between it and the pack of wood. The employee suffered a partial amputation to the right ring finger.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 326211)
On October 25, 2025, an employee was stringing up a new reel of tire tread on a machine. The employee pulled a 6-inch tail and proceeded to spool up the liner. As the machine was jogged to begin the liner wrapping process, the liner caught the employee's glove and pulled their right arm into the liner, causing a fracture to the arm.
An employee was adjusting a pallet on a conveyor when it came off the conveyor and struck his right ankle, breaking the tibia and fibula. The employee was hospitalized.
At 2:45 p.m., an employee was outside the plant during a break before his next shift. He was speaking with an associate when he suddenly fell from the third-level steps to the ground, striking his head on the concrete. The employee was hospitalized due to internal brain bleeding, a wound to the back of his head requiring staples, and heat-related dehydration.
Two employees were replacing a motor on an overhead conveyor. The old motor fell to the floor, causing a piece of the concrete floor to fly up and strike the injured employee in the face, around the eye. The injured employee sustained a right orbital fracture, a zygomatic arch fracture, and a sphenoid fracture. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was changing the bladder on a hydraulic press. As he lowered the bladder, his left foot was pinned between its bottom ring and the bottom mold of the press. The second toe on the foot was amputated.
An employee was working to remove a product blockage from a piece of equipment. The employee was struck by a metal bar near the deck of the pin mixer equipment and sustained blunt force trauma to the torso.
An employee was moving a rack onto a lower conveyor in the south heat treat area when their finger got caught between the part tray and the rollers, resulting in a fingertip fracture and amputation.
An employee was climbing a ladder to get on top of the breakroom. The ladder slipped, causing him to fall to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to his upper back, left foot, and ankle.
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.