Overexertion while moving or manipulating external object(s) n.e.c. · Other traumatic injuries n.e.c.
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at National Park Service Grand Canyon, Headquarters, 20 South Entrance Road, GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA 86023
on — Other traumatic injuries n.e.c., affecting the Body systems and other part(s) of body.
Final narrative
An employee was completing an annual work capacity test. Later that night, the employee experienced severe pain in their left leg and was hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis and compartment syndrome in the lower left leg.
Hospitalized Body systems and other part(s) of body Back packs
An employee participated in smokejumper training, which includes carrying weight. He suffered from dehydration and was hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis.
On October 30, 2024, an employee was participating in a pack test (a physical fitness test for employment designed to test the capacity of the employee for arduous work, consisting of a timed 3-mile hike with a 45-pound pack over level terrain). He was about 40 minutes into the test when he felt severe back pain and cramps in his legs and became unconscious. The employee sustained a compression fracture of the T12 vertebra.
An employee was walking on a flat level track with a 25-pound pack. He was on his final lap of the test when he collapsed onto the ground from overexertion.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 712190)
After completing a fitness test, an employee experienced lower leg pain and an inability to walk. The employee was hospitalized for compartment syndrome in both legs.
An employee was cutting up a large tree that had blown down on a rocky ledge on a hill. He began cutting on the uphill side of the tree, but due to obstructions he had to move to the downhill side. The tree separated from its 7-foot root ball, which started sliding toward him. While attempting to get out of the way, he tripped and fell to the ground, striking his head on an unknown object. As the root ball continued to move toward the employee, he made it below the level of the rock ledge. The root ball rolled over when it reached the ledge and pinned the employee's lower leg, and broke his fibula. He also suffered scrapes and bruises from the fall.
An employee was walking on a trail in a national park and stepped onto an angled and flat slab of granite when her ankle rolled and her weight shifted, but she did not fall. She was hospitalized with a fractured tibia and fibula and a dislocated ankle.
An employee was offroad, looking for a lost hiker. The employee fell off a canyon rim edge and landed on rimrock 5 or 6 feet below, suffering a separated shoulder and a head injury that required stitches. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was preparing to conduct maintenance on a riding lawn mower and lifted the mower deck upward to its vertical position with assistance from another employee. A third employee pulled a locking pin, causing the front wheel mount to move forward into the cab. The cab entrance hand hold crushed the little fingers on the injured employee's hands. The employee was hospitalized and required surgical amputation of the right little finger to the second joint, as well as debriding and stitches to the left little finger.
On September 25, 2025, an employee climbed an aluminum extension ladder and was on top of the roof of a building She was walking around on the roof, inspecting and evaluating it. She was descending the ladder when the ladder slid to the right and twisted around as she hung onto it. She then fell 10-12 feet to the paved parking lot and the ladder landed on top of her. She sustained a fractured left collarbone, multiple other fractures, and had bruising to the left side of her abdomen.
At about 5:55 p.m. on August 9, 2025, an employee lost his footing while climbing an access ladder to a 12-foot-high spotlight platform. He fell about 9 feet to the ground, breaking eight ribs on the right side.
An employee was setting chains to secure a concrete barrier to a front-end loader. The chain became twisted and lost slack. The concrete barricade fell on the employee's left foot, causing a partial amputation to a toe.