Struck by discharged object or substance · Cuts, lacerations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at International Fire Protection, Inc., Gaston Steam Plant, WILSONVILLE, ALABAMA 35186
on — Cuts, lacerations, affecting the hand(s), except finger(s).
Final narrative
An employee was cleaning sludge out of a fire suppression system pipe using a pressure washer. They withdrew the pressure washing wand from inside the pipe and it projected water onto their left hand, resulting in a laceration on the palm between the middle and ring fingers.
A forklift came around a corner and ran over an employee who was hydrotesting fire hoses. The employee suffered a collapsed lung, broken ribs, a possible broken arm, and a possible spine fracture. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was working from a walk board (placed on top of rafters), installing hangers for a sprinkler system inside a cooling tower. He was wearing a harness with a retractable lanyard at the time. As he was turning around to talk to his coworker, the walk board shifted and he fell about 6 to 8 feet, ultimately hanging by his harness about 40 feet above the base of the cooling tower. He was hospitalized with a laceration, soft tissue damage, and a blood clot to his left arm.
An employee was inspecting and servicing fire extinguishers when a client's forklift struck the employee's left ankle from behind, breaking it and requiring hospitalization.
An employee was installing wood trim surrounding a skylight inside a home. While holding a piece of trim in it's desired location, his pneumatic nail gun discharged, sending a 3/4-inch pin nail into his left forearm.
An employee removed a safety valve on a trailer that unknowingly contained nitrogen gas. The gas released from the trailer and pushed the employee backward off a scaffold approximately 10 feet before they struck a garage door, resulting in a pelvic injury.
An employee was sitting at her workstation when a nail gun malfunctioned and shot a nail into her left leg. She suffered a puncture and blood vessel injury and was hospitalized.
On November 25, 2023, an employee was using a high-pressured water hose to perform sewer line cleaning operations. The employee's right little finger and palm were lacerated by pressurized water from the hose.
A smoke jumper parachuted out of a helicopter during a forest fire response, landed on steep rugged terrain, and suffered femur and rib fractures and a liver laceration. The employee was hospitalized.
Employees were troubleshooting dual duct detectors in a room. The injured employee was on the second rung from the top of a forward-facing 12-foot A-frame ladder. He was reinstalling the duct detector in the furthest duct from him (18 inches). When he pushed the duct detector into the existing holes, the duct broke free and fell, striking his back and shoulders. He was knocked forward over the ladder and fell to the floor. The employee sustained a head injury.
An employee was descending an 8-foot A-frame ladder when he tripped over the fourth step/rung and fell, contacting the floor and a sprinkler pipe that was set on the ground. The employee sustained fractures to his left arm.
An employee working as a contracted firefighter was using a bulldozer to push back an active fire line when they became entrapped in flames, resulting in first- and second-degree burns.
An employee was engaging in daily physical training in preparation for fire season as a smokejumper. The employee sustained swelling and stiffness in their arms and was hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis.
An employee was traveling down the maintenance aisle of a warehouse on a single-pallet front rider jack. The jack malfunctioned, causing the brakes to apply; the employee fell forward onto the concrete warehouse floor. The employee suffered an injury to the left leg and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was operating a metal roller machine to roll a small piece of metal. The employee's right index finger became caught between the metal and the machine, and the fingertip was amputated.
An employee was directing a truck driver to a dump site when the truck's peanut trailer slipped off the kingpin. As the trailer fell, a ladder attached to it lacerated the employee's ear. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was unloading a forklift from a trailer to the ground. The employee was climbing down the ladder of the trailer when their foot slipped through one of the rungs, causing them to fall backward onto the forklift forks. The employee was hospitalized for fractured ribs.