Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Primoris Renewable Energy, 1521 CR 104, WHARTON, TEXAS 77488
on — Fractures , affecting the Shoulder(s), clavicle(s), scapula(e).
Final narrative
An employee was driving a telehandler (forklift) on a rural road with drainage ditches on both sides of the road. A tube of grease rolled near the operating pedals of the telehandler and when the operator bent over to grab the tube, the telehandler veered off the road. The tires of the telehandler slid on wet grass and went into a ditch. When the telehandler got to the bottom of the ditch (approximately 15 feet below), it tipped over onto the cab's passenger side. The employee was wearing a seatbelt and struck the interior structure of the telehandler cab and sustained a fractured right clavicle requiring hospitalization.
Hospitalized Shoulder(s), clavicle(s), scapula(e) Industrial vehicle, material hauling and transport powered, n.e.c.
A skid steer was being used to transport crate brackets for staging onto installed piles. An employee approached a crate to get two brackets. He picked up the brackets and turned left to walk and place the brackets on a pile. The skid steer traversed forward, making contact with the employee's right boot and causing him to fall on the ground. The skid steer continued to move forward, driving over the employee's right leg just above the knee. The employee sustained a broken leg.
An employee was acting as a spotter while a forklift traveled through congested areas at a worksite. The forklift load (a box of solar panels) tipped over and struck the employee, who suffered a broken pelvis and ribs. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was using an excavator to unload concrete traffic barriers. The excavator swung, tipped over an existing barrier, and fell into a ravine/wetland. The employee sustained a fractured left shin requiring hospitalization and surgery.
Two employees were driving a water truck pulling a trailer on the sloped shoulder within the barricade of a work zone when the truck and the trailer rolled over. One employee sustained a broken femur and was hospitalized. The second employee sustained contusions to the lower back left side and left forearm and was not hospitalized.
An employee was operating a forklift on the roadway near a building. While backing up, the rear tires left the pavement and sank into the soft ground causing the forklift to flip onto its side. The employee s right leg and foot were trapped underneath the forklift resulting in multiple broken metatarsals.
An employee was driving a utility vehicle and making rounds in the facility. While transitioning from the paved portion of the roadway to the uneven gravel portion, the vehicle overturned and the employee's left foot was caught between the vehicle and the ground. The employee sustained a dislocated left ankle.
A crane operator was transitioning a crane from a slope to a flat surface when the crane began tipping over. The operator jumped from the cab of the crane and landed on the bridge deck as the crane overturned on the bridge. The employee was hospitalized with an injury to the left arm.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 221114)
An employee was standing on a step stool, removing the nuts and bolts from the frame of a solar panel that was being replaced. The employee's cheek made contact with a connector with damaged insulation. The employee was shocked, briefly lost consciousness, and fell to the ground, suffering an injury to the left shoulder.
An employee was changing fuel filters on a front-end loader. When he descended the access steps of the engine bay, he misstepped and fell approximately 3 feet to the concrete surface below. The employee sustained a fractured left hip.
An employee was walking in the warehouse when their foot was struck by the forks of an unloaded forklift that was passing by. The employee's foot was fractured.
An employee was climbing down an extension ladder from a residential roof. The ladder collapsed under his foot, and he fell backward onto the grass. He suffered a sprained neck, a fractured scapula, and fractures to his T7 and T12 vertebrae.
An employee was working to straighten a solar panel by reaching into the unguarded rotating section of the conveyor when their right thumb got caught in the conveyor, resulting in amputation of their right thumb.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.