Struck by suspended or swinging objects n.e.c. · Nonfatal 'crushing' injuries
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Vital Steel Erectors, Inc., 2202 East Navigation, CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS 78402
on — Nonfatal 'crushing' injuries, affecting the Lower leg(s).
Final narrative
The injured employee was helping another employee put a clamp on an I-beam that was attached to a crane. When the crane began to lift the load, the I-beam tipped to the left and caught the injured employee's left leg against another I-beam. The employee was hospitalized with crush injuries to his left tibia and fibula and required surgery.
Hospitalized Lower leg(s) Beams and rails metal
More severe injuries at Vital Steel Erectors, Inc.
An employee was installing decking and fell 35 feet onto a concrete surface and sustained injuries to their head, nose, and left arm. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery. The employee was wearing a harness, but their lanyard was not attached to the anchor point at the time.
An employee was getting down from a roof using a scissor lift when he fell 30 feet to the base of the lift scissor mechanism, suffering internal bleeding, kidney damage and multiple fractures to both legs that required hospitalization.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was stacking concrete blocks for a concrete bunker. As a block was swinging into place, the employee's left leg was pinched between two blocks, resulting in injuries to his left heel and lower leg.
An employee was using a crane to move a 44-foot, 3,343-pound I-beam. As the beam was moving west, it straightened out (north to south), beginning to swing south toward the northwest corner of a building. The crane then sent the beam southward, directly toward the corner of the building. The beam caught the tips of the employee's left index, middle, and ring fingers against the building. The last joints of the middle and ring fingers were amputated, and the last joint of the index finger was partially crushed.
An employee was placing a board on top of a bundle of steel tubing. A crane was moving a bundle of steel that struck the employee and caught them against another bundle of steel tubing. The employee sustained a crushing injury and hematoma to the right upper leg.
Employees were using a crane to lower large tree stems and branches while removing limbs and branches from the load. This caused the load to shift and strike an employee in the back, resulting in a hematoma on the lower left part of their back and a fractured ankle.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 238120)
An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.
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.
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An employee was unloading a rebar delivery from a flatbed, 19-wheel trailer. The employee rigged the load with wire rope chokers. The load was picked up 3-4 feet above the trailer deck by a crane. The load began to swing and the employee grabbed onto it to prevent it from being pushed off the trailer deck. The crane continued to lift the load, and the employee let go so the crane did not lift him to the third story. The employee fell approximately 12 feet to the ground below, resulting in a back injury and fractured vertebrae.
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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.
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