Big River Steel, LLC

An employee was doing a cable change on top of an electric overhead traveling (EOT) crane. They were positioned between the cable drum and the drive shaft. While rotating the cable drum, the employee reached for the new cable that was to be installed. The grease fitting on the drive shaft caught their fall harness and pulled them underneath the drive shaft. The employee was pinned between the drive shaft and two pieces of angle steel, resulting in a fracture to their left hip.

On June 22, 2025, an employee was performing scheduled maintenance at a ladle metallurgical furnace vault. As the employee was replacing a shear pin, they contacted an energized circuit, resulting in an arc flash. The employee sustained second-degree burns to their buttocks and both legs.

On September 1, 2024, an employee was clearing the metal material from the head of a bander as it was becoming misaligned. The gate was closed and it fell on the employee's right index finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.

An employee was during utility work during the second shift, 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. At about 9:45 p.m., he began to feel hot and switched to light duty. At about 6:40 a.m., he felt ill and developed heat cramps. He was hospitalized, suffering from a heat-related illness.

Two employees were moving 12-inch-thick rolls of steel. While they were putting one of the rolls into place, it rolled back onto one employee's right hand, lacerating and breaking it.

A crew was installing drilled micropiles alongside an outdoor covered deck foundation. The injured employee was working the front of the drill when a loose section of casing dropped onto the tip of a rig wrench and pulled the wrench down to an embedded casing. The employee's left little finger was caught between the rig wrench and the embedded casing and was amputated above the top knuckle.

An employee was checking a pole-type transformer tank for leaks. A hydraulic clamping device was lowered onto his right thumb and crushed it against the sharp edge of the bottom of the tank. He suffered a partial transphalangeal amputation to the thumb.

An employee had been cleaning the work area. While lifting a saw, the employee's index finger was lacerated by the saw blade. A tendon was cut and required surgery.

An employee was installing a hydraulic extension cylinder in a tow truck when their leg was caught between the cylinder and the truck frame. The employee was hospitalized with a broken tibia, which required surgery.

An employee was sorting sucker rods. His right hand was caught in the area where the rod hits up against the frame and his index fingertip was amputated just below the nail.

An employee fell while entering the building. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured ankle and required surgery.

An employee was doing a cable change on top of an electric overhead traveling (EOT) crane. They were positioned between the cable drum and the drive shaft. While rotating the cable drum, the employee reached for the new cable that was to be installed. The grease fitting on the drive shaft caught their fall harness and pulled them underneath the drive shaft. The employee was pinned between the drive shaft and two pieces of angle steel, resulting in a fracture to their left hip.

An employee was working to close a furnace door. The hydraulic mechanism that opens and closes the furnace door was non-operational and had been disconnected to allow the furnace door to be opened manually. As the employee was releasing the pins that held the door open, the door and the hydraulic cylinder fell, pinching their left hand between the hydraulic cylinder's base plate and the furnace. The employee suffered amputation of the little fingertip.

A rolling mill was shut down due to a cobble between two mill stands. The injured employee was cleaning the cobble from the delivery side of stand A, while another employee went to the control panel to move stand B and stand A moved instead. The injured employee's right thumb got caught between the delivery guide of stand A and the looper trough. The tip of his thumb required surgical amputation to the bone to allow for stitches.

An employee was helping another employee load stock material onto a press brake when the stock slipped. The injured employee's right index finger was caught between the press brake die and the stock, resulting in amputation at the first knuckle.

An employee was operating an ironworker (steel punching/shearing) machine. A piece of the tooling broke off and struck the employee's neck; a fragment was lodged in his neck. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

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 doing a cable change on top of an electric overhead traveling (EOT) crane. They were positioned between the cable drum and the drive shaft. While rotating the cable drum, the employee reached for the new cable that was to be installed. The grease fitting on the drive shaft caught their fall harness and pulled them underneath the drive shaft. The employee was pinned between the drive shaft and two pieces of angle steel, resulting in a fracture to their left hip.

An employee was helping two other employees to push a pallet of tile on a loading dock. He suffered a broken fibula and 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.