Fall to lower level from collapsing structure or equipment 6 to 30 feet · Cuts, lacerations, punctures without injury to internal structures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Caterpillar Inc., 27th St & E Pershing Rd, DECATUR, ILLINOIS 62526
on — Cuts, lacerations, punctures without injury to internal structures, affecting the Forehead, temple(s).
Final narrative
At 8:43 a.m. on February 23, 2024, an employee was in an elevated positioning basket, painting a strut inside a paint booth, when the basket's mounting bracket broke away from the wall. The employee and the basket fell to the ground about 7 feet below. During the fall, the employee struck their head on an object within the paint booth and suffered a head laceration above the eyebrows. The employee was hospitalized.
On September 13, 2025, an employee had been working at an outdoor event. At the end the day, she was walking around outside the facility to make sure everything was put away and felt overheated. The employee was hospitalized for heat-related illness.
On September 5, 2025, at approximately 7:35 AM, a temporary employee was at the engine block rollover machine. Their left index fingertip was caught and amputated between a pneumatic part and a guard.
On June 27, 2025, at approximately 8:35 AM, an employee was operating a box maker machine when their left middle fingertip was caught by a chain and sprocket. The employee's fingertip was partially amputated without loss of bone or the fingernail.
An employee had just put a dock plate in place. While stepping back over the plate, the employee tripped and fell onto it. The employee suffered a broken hip.
An employee was delivering materials. He was doing his pre-delivery inspection on the roof of the jobsite (a warehouse) when he fell through a plexiglass skylight. He landed on his feet on the concrete floor 14 feet below. The employee sustained fractures to his spine, left ulnar/radius, and right heel. The employee required surgery.
An employee was climbing a ladder to inspect a vent in a restaurant dining area. The ladder slid out on the floor and the employee fell approximately 12 feet onto the ladder and the floor. He was hospitalized with a dislocated shoulder and a back injury.
An employee was standing on a multi-purpose ladder installing head flashing over a window. Their feet were approximately 6 feet off the ground and three rungs from the top. The employee lost their grip on the drill they were using and the ladder tipped over. The employee fell from the ladder to the ground, resulting in a fractured left wrist, bruised chest, and lacerations to their face and lip.
An employee was assembling a baker type scaffold. He was beginning to transverse down the scaffold, approximately six feet off the ground, when the scaffold tipped over and he fell. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured femur.
An employee was working from an extension ladder, installing a security camera. The ladder fell out from under the employee, who fell to the ground 12 feet below and broke his right femur.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 333131)
An employee was standing at the rear of a machine and the machine's mesh tray fell down onto the rear of the machine, crushing his left hand against the read lift. The employee sustained fractures and a laceration to their left hand and was hospitalized.
The injured employee was assisting with tightening down 3/4" hardware during assembly of a 6'x20' triple deck screen. Another employee was using a 1/2" cordless impact wrench to tighten down the hardware. The injured employee was using a 1-1/8" open-end wrench that slipped when the bolt was being tighten down by the impact wrench. The injured employee's right ring fingertip was caught between the open-end wrench and the side sheet of the triple deck screen. The tuft of the distal phalanx was amputated.
An employee was welding baffle plates onto a 55-gallon hydraulic tank. A flash occurred as they began to tack weld a part. The employee suffered burns to most of their face and second-degree burns on each arm, resulting in hospitalization.
On July 22, 2024, an employee was using a pressure washer to fill a mop bucket with water. The washer's hose split and soapy water was injected into the employee's right palm and index finger. The puncture wound had to be surgically cleaned.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.