Fall to lower level from collapsing structure or equipment less than 6 feet · Fractures and soft tissue injuries
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Veolia North America, 24 Commerce Road, NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT 06470
on — Fractures and soft tissue injuries, affecting the Trunk and other upper extremities.
Final narrative
An employee was working in a wastewater facility, cleaning a metal screen. He positioned it against a railing on top of a metal grating, which was above a headworks bypass channel. When he stepped onto a trapezoid-shaped section of grating, it slid forward and tipped into the channel. The employee fell about 5 feet into the channel, which contained about 1 foot of stagnant wastewater. He suffered a rotator cuff and ligament tear in his left shoulder, a contusion on the left side of his back, a broken left-side rib, and a tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
Hospitalized Trunk and other upper extremities Existing opening, hole in constructed surface
An employee was packing a cleaning solution containing sodium hydroxide. The solution spilled onto the employee's right ankle, causing a chemical burn to the ankle.
An employee was removing a motor from the top of a pump inside a wastewater lift station. A come-along was turning the motor to free it from its housing on the pump when the employee's left hand was caught between the motor's bottom edge and housing on top of the pump, amputating the left ring fingertip and lacerating the little finger.
An employee was descending a 10-foot A-frame ladder. The ladder came out from under the employee when he was about 5 to 6 feet above ground level. He fell, landed on the left side of his body, and sustained fractures to four ribs, his pelvis, and hip socket, and sustained injuries on the left side of his body. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was handling a small platform ladder with three steps and two wheels in the front. The employee was found on the floor underneath the ladder. She was hospitalized with multiple fractures to the sacrum.
An employee was on a ladder four feet above the ground to install insulation. The ladder began to slide and the employee jumped to the shop floor, breaking his left tibia and fibula at the ankle. He was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
On July 21, 2025, an employee was working from a 10-foot step ladder while installing a 3-by-5-foot glass window pane on the outside of a new home under construction. The window fell from the frame and the employee went to catch it when the ladder slipped. The employee fell 5 feet to the ground and landed on small pieces of concrete left over from the foundation pour. The employee was hospitalized with a dislocated elbow and fractured wrist that required surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 221320)
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An employee was packing a cleaning solution containing sodium hydroxide. The solution spilled onto the employee's right ankle, causing a chemical burn to the ankle.
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