Struck by discharged object or substance · Cuts, lacerations, punctures without injury to internal structures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at HEPACO, LLC, 9355 Harris Corners Parkway, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA 28269
on — Cuts, lacerations, punctures without injury to internal structures, affecting the Foot (feet), toe(s) unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was pressure washing a rail car, slipped, and fell. Pressurized water struck the employee's right foot. The employee suffered a laceration and an injection wound requiring hospitalization for surgery.
Hospitalized Foot (feet), toe(s) unspecified Pressurized water blast
An employee was and co-worker were installing a pipe bracket in a shipboard tank. The pipe measured 1 1/2 feet, and the employee was on a ladder for the installation. As they removed the bracket, the pipe shifted and struck the employee, causing them to fall from the ladder to the tank floor. The employee suffered a fractured right femur.
An employee was working to assess the operation of a high-pressure water nozzle. The water system was activated and the employee was cut by high pressure water on his left hand where the palm meets the wrist. The employee was hospitalized.
On October 5, 2025, an employee was pulling a pressure washer hose when it it disconnected from the cooker. The employee was struck by jets of high-pressure water, resulting in lacerations to their left thigh requiring surgery. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was sandblasting paint from a water tower when the blasting media sprayed across their forearm, resulting in an elbow injury that required hospitalization.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 562910)
An employee was working to assess the operation of a high-pressure water nozzle. The water system was activated and the employee was cut by high pressure water on his left hand where the palm meets the wrist. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was working to push items in a trailer dumpster with his feet; his back was against a building wall. He fell to the concrete ground, resulting in fractures.
An employee was guiding a high-pressure water hose through a 4-inch gap on a horizontal condensing tube when the hose blew apart. The hose left the opening and the fitting at the end of it struck the employee on the side of his face. The employee sustained blunt force trauma to the left side of his head, including a laceration from his left temple through his ear.
On July 24, 2025, an employee was shoveling material when a piece of steel slag fell from a nearby furnace and struck them in the back. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to their thoracic vertebrae and a metatarsal.
An employee was attaching a steel angle plate weighing (approximately 200 pounds) to the end of a structural member (5,000 pounds) and was supported by dunnage. The dunnage was a crane mat (11 inches tall) with a 4x6 board on top of it and it supported five identical members. The main piece was 30.75 feet long, 37.25 feet tall, and 1 food wide. As the employee slid the piece of metal on top of the member to begin attaching it, the entire member began to tip over. The employee went to stop the main piece from tipping over and it landed on his ankle, fracturing it.
An employee was preparing hot melted butter on a flat-top grill and placing it in small containers once it was melted. As she turned to set the container down, it slipped out of her hand and landed on the grill. Butter splashed up and hit her in the face. The employee suffered second-degree burns to her right eye and the right side of her head and face, as well as first-degree burns to her right forearm.
An employee pulled into the customer's driveway, parked, and exited the vehicle. He opened the sliding side door on the vehicle to retrieve a package. The customer began backing their vehicle out of their garage and it struck the employee in the back of his left leg. He was pinned him between the two vehicles, causing contusions and lacerations.