Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at C.W. MATTHEWS CONTRACTING CO., INC., Muscogee County State Route 22, COLUMBUS, GEORGIA 31901
on — Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified, affecting the Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s).
Final narrative
On March 28, 2025, an employee working as a machine operator was changing the teeth on a milling drum. He was using the tooth extractor when his left index finger became caught between the drum and the extractor. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
Amputation Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s) Handtools unspecified
More severe injuries at C.W. MATTHEWS CONTRACTING CO., INC.
On August 13, 2025, an employee was marking out line and grade for an inlet box. While he was stepping from one 18-inch reinforced concrete pipe to another, his foot slipped and he struck the pipe and fell. He suffered a broken left tibia.
A traffic control crew was picking up road barrier barrels and loading them onto a trailer. A box truck rear-ended a police car, struck the traffic control trailer, and struck two traffic control employees. One of the employees was hospitalized with a severe laceration to their liver and fractures to their right tibia and fibula, as well as their left arm.
An employee was pulling the joint off a southbound lane and checking the depth. The employee was walking on the right side of the paver when a vehicle swerved into the closed lane and struck the employee, launched him into the air, where he struck a spreader. The employee sustained a contusion to the body, a right arm laceration, a fractured right tibia, and a right leg laceration. The driver of the vehicle was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI).
On October 26, 2023, two employees were performing construction work when they engaged in a physical altercation. One employee was hospitalized with a brain bleed and a back injury.
An employee had been working at an outdoor jobsite for 7 hours when he began to feel ill. He was hospitalized and diagnosed with renal failure due to possible heat exhaustion.
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 using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 237310)
An employee was operating a battery-powered broom to clean demolition debris off the top of the outermost bridge girder. The girder was approximately 11 feet above the demolition scaffold below. The employee fell approximately 8 feet to wind bracing below. The employee was hospitalized with a pelvis/tailbone fracture. Fall protection was in place at the time.
An employee was cleaning out an inlet pipe in a stormwater structure. The employee stepped back, fell into the pipe, and landed on concrete 13 feet below, at the bottom of the structure. He suffered a broken back.
A concrete batch plant operator was assisting with clearing spoil piles using a skid steer. The skid steer backed into a stationary screen plant. The employee's left little finger was crushed between the controls of the skid steer and the screen plant, resulting in a fracture and laceration. The employee's finger was surgically amputated.
An employee was operating a roller and paving a small pathway next to a pavilion. The ground was on a slight pitch, causing him to reach up toward the roll cage to stabilize himself. His right fifth finger was pinched between the roll cage and the rafter of the pavilion. The employee sustained a partial degloving injury with partial traumatic amputation.
An employee was working with paving equipment and heard a noise on the opposite side of the machine he was working on. When the machine stopped, the employee went to the opposite side and crouched down to investigate the noise. A mini track loader backed up and drove over the employee's leg. The employee sustained fractures to their lower leg, ankle, and foot.
An employee was helping to lift the grating from a floor draining system when the grating slipped and landed on his hand, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger at the first joint.
During a workshop meeting in a hotel, an employee heard a drilling noise, so he walked outside to see what it was. An explosion occurred (possible gas line) and his face, ear, and hair were burned. He also fell and sustained a pelvic fracture.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.