Fall to lower level resulting in exposure or contact less than 6 feet · Thermal burns second degree
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at SMS group Inc., 19700 97th Avenue, MOKENA, ILLINOIS 60448
on — Thermal burns second degree, affecting the Foot (feet) and ankle(s).
Final narrative
On October 26, 2024, employees were preparing to clean a parts washer. An employee went up the stairs and stepped off the platform onto the door frame. They then stepped onto the washer's table to connect an overhead crane to the cleaned parts basket. They walked back across the washer's table to exit and then stepped back onto the door frame with their right foot to reach the step platform. Their left foot slipped and was submerged approximately 6-7 inches in an uncovered water reservoir containing water heated to approximately 170 F. The employee sustained second-degree burns on their left ankle and foot.
Hospitalized Foot (feet) and ankle(s) Vehicle and machine platforms, surfaces
Two employees were loading a roll into an EDT machine. One employee was operating the crane and the other employee was the EDT operator. The crane operator was between the roll and the EDT machine. Both employees were struck by the suspended roll and knocked into the EDT machine wall. Both employees sustained internal abdominal injuries requiring surgery and hospitalization. One employee was fatally injured.
An employee parked their vehicle at a facility and stepped out of the vehicle to begin cleaning a portable toilet. The parking brake failed and the vehicle began to roll backward. The employee fell and was struck by the front driver's side tire. The employee's hip was fractured.
An employee was working on the sidewalk and roadway applying paint strips on the ground with thermoplastic striping paint, which was heated during application. The employee had dug a small hole to bury excess paint, and his foot went into the hole. He was hospitalized with second-degree burns to his right foot and lower right leg.
On June 11, 2024, an employee was standing on the back bumper of a mixer truck when he fell and struck his face on the bumper. The employee suffered a fractured neck and broken teeth.
A delivery driver was delivering product at a customer location. He was using an electric pallet jack to offload a pallet when he fell off the trailer liftgate. The pallet jack then fell on his leg, causing the driver to sustain a broken leg and a laceration to his forehead from the fall.
The injured employee was retrieving a suitcase generator out of the bed of a pickup truck. While handing the generator to an employee on the ground, the injured employee slipped and fell off the bumper of the truck. He landed on the tongue of the trailer that the truck was coupled to. The employee sustained a bruised lung and three fractured ribs.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 541330)
An employee was working to free a load by grabbing and shaking the live side of a tugger line. Once the load became free and progressed upward, the employee's hand was caught and pulled into a snatch block. The employee's right thumb was broken and lacerated. The employee was hospitalized and required a surgical amputation.
An employee was operating a drill rig when when their hand got caught between a 1/4-inch steel cable and a drill rod, resulting in the amputation of four fingers.
An employee was overseeing the operation of a rope being respooled onto the drum of a wire winding machine. He went to remove a piece of wooden reel from the rope. His glove got snagged and his right hand was pulled into the roller, pinching his fingers between the machine's roller and the rope. The middle and index fingers were crushed.
An employee was visiting a patient's home to fit them with a wearable cardiac defibrillator. As he was walking from the front door to his car, a large dog broke free from a chain and attacked him. He was bitten on the forearm and fell. The patient was then able to restrain the dog. The employee was hospitalized with severe dog bites and required surgery.
An employee tripped over a junior I-beam about 4 feet long and 6 inches tall that was installed for circulating water valves and fell to the ground, resulting in a broken right-side rib.
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.