Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Three Z Printing Co, 902 West Main Street, TEUTOPOLIS, ILLINOIS 62467
on — Fractures , affecting the Hand(s) and arm(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
On February 21, 2025, two employees were installing a new hydraulic system on a manual pallet jack. The forks on the pallet jack were supported by a forklift. The injured employee was threading a new bolt on the front side of the pallet jack through the bracket that was being installed on the frame while another employee was drilling additional holes to complete the installation of the bracket on the back side of the pallet jack. When the employee drilled into the frame of the pallet jack, it moved. The forks of the pallet jack then fell off the forklift and the mast of the pallet jack came off the stabilization bar. When the pallet jack fell, it struck the injured employee's arm. The employee sustained fractures to his lower left arm and right middle finger.
Hospitalized Hand(s) and arm(s) n.e.c. Non-riding pallet jack
A maintenance employee was using pliers to clear a paper jam between the rollers of a folding machine. The pliers slipped off the paper and the employee's right little fingertip struck against the sharp edge of the bottom bar on the top gate, lacerating it. The fingertip was medically amputated.
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
An employee was helping to move a 1,300-pound coil on a cart. The steel caster hit a crack in the concrete, the weld holding the caster onto the cart broke, and the coil and cart tipped over onto the employee. He was hospitalized with a laceration on his forehead and a pelvic fracture on his right side.
An employee was attempting to lift a steel beam from a horizontal, stacked position to a vertical position using a crane. They had placed two hooks on the east side of the beam on the flange. As the employee was hoisting the crane, the beam began to shift and pulled the employee forward onto the stack. When the material shifted, the hooks released and the material fell, pinning the employee between the two beams. The employee was hospitalized with soft tissue contusions on their proximal right thigh and interior left thigh.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was removing packaging from a roll of printing substrate. The blade of their utility knife got stuck. The employee used both hands to free the knife and the blade partially amputated their left little fingertip.
The injured employee's standup forklift had mechanical issue with a tire. The injured employee was inside their forklift to help steer it while it was being pushed up the ramp by another forklift. As the other forklift started to move up the ramp, it's forks moved and went into the driver's space of the disabled forklift. The fork penetrated the injured employee's left shoe, fracturing the two middle toes and injuring the first toe. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
A press was having a paster failure and the crew was working to get the ink on the paper. A press operator grounded himself and was entering the press unit when something flashed. The employee sustained third-degree burns to his head and left arm.
Around 12:45 PM, a clamp truck operator went to remove a piece of orange strap from a clamp truck that was parked outside of the office. The strap fell into a gap between the frame and the hood of the truck. The strap became caught in the engine's fan and also wrapped around the employee's hand when he went to grab it. The strap was pulled tight against the frame of the clamp truck, causing lacerations and fractures to the employee's hand. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
At 12:00 p.m. on August 13, 2025, an employee was unloading a 1,100-pound roll of paper from a skid when the roll fell onto his right leg. The leg was broken.
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.