Torgerson's Equipment

An employee was driving a powered industrial truck (PIT) carrying a nesting sheave on the back counterweight of the PIT. He was holding the sheave when the PIT struck a pothole in the floor, causing the sheave to roll forward and crush his right index fingertip against the back of the PIT seat frame. The employee's fingertip was amputated, requiring hospitalization and surgery.

At 5:46 PM, on July 26, 2025, an Evergreen Caissons bulldozer operator was towing a water truck on a sandy job site. The tow hook failed and the shackle and D-ring on the nylon tow rope snapped back and went through the back window of the dozer, and struck the operator. The employee sustained a gash under their right armpit. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was moving a concrete jersey barrier with a pallet jack. The barrier broke near its base and toppled onto the employee's right foot, causing injuries to the third and fourth toes including an amputation of the distal tissues and tuft of the distal phalanx at the fourth digit with at least one small, nondisplaced fracture of the tuft of the second distal phalanx with overlying soft tissue swelling. They also sustained a comminuted fracture of the tuft of the third distal phalanx with multiple displaced bone fragments and overlying soft tissue swelling. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was working to tow a forklift with another forklift when the tow line came loose and struck their face. The employee sustained head, face, and eye injuries.

An employee was operating a tractor and utilizing a 2.5-foot kinetic rope and a 1-inch soft shackle to pull another tractor that was stuck in the mud. An additional 30-foot kinetic rope with a soft shackle was hooked up to provide distance from the soft soil. While pulling, the loop end of the terminal shackle on the stuck tractor frayed and released the rope, causing it to recoil back at the pulling tractor. The rope(s) struck the back of the pull tractor, broke the rear window, and struck the employee. The employee was pushed forward into the steering wheel and sustained severe lacerations to the head and a collapsed lung.

During a break, an employee was engaged in a conversation with a customer. They were standing approximately 7 feet in front of a combine header that was attached to a payloader but also set on jack stands for support. The header dislodged from the payloader, slid forward along with its support stand, and struck both the employee and the customer. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, a fractured rib, and a partially deflated lung. The customer also sustained injury.

An employee was replacing a manure belt in an egg producing poultry house. He was using a mechanical roller and a steel cable to pull (remove) the old manure belt. The employee's ring and little fingertips were pinched between the roller and the cable resulting in partial amputations above the top knuckle.

An employee was walking past a cow barn when he slipped on a wet floor mat and fell. The employee sustained torn ligaments and his quadriceps were torn from the bone on both legs.

An employee was working on a bale accumulator attached to a tractor. While he was making adjustments, the accumulator activated. The bar of the accumulator struck him and dragged him to the side, and his right leg was run over. He suffered a broken femur.

An employee tripped on a piece of wood and fell onto the rough edge of a metal tank under fabrication. The employee was hospitalized with a laceration on his hand.

An employee was fixing an issue with seed cleaning equipment when he slipped on the ladder he was on. He went to catch himself and his hand went into a moving belt and pulley on the cleaner. The employee sustained the amputation of his right middle and index fingertips just below the fingernails.

An employee was riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) to move a bison herd. He was riding up the side of a steep hill when the ATV struck a rock and rolled, ejecting the employee before rolling over him. The employee suffered broken vertebrae in his back that required hospitalization.

An employee was clearing out dirt from an underground pipe when he was bitten by a rattlesnake on his hand.

An employee was climbing in the spreader area to remove a pasta jam when his right little finger was cut by the rotary cut-off knife. The employee sustained a laceration and fracture, resulting in an amputation.

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.