Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at General Shale Brick, Inc., 21455 FM 2252, SCHERTZ, TEXAS 78154
on — Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified, affecting the Other finger(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was operating a slab line in a plant that produces 16" x 9" x 3" concrete slabs that weigh approximately 25-30 pounds. The employee went to adjust the chain and sprocket for the doubler that stacks the slabs two high, when their right middle finger was caught in the machine. The employee sustained a partial transphalangeal amputation of the finger.
Amputation Other finger(s) n.e.c. Metal, woodworking, and special material machinery unspecified
An employee was behind a brick firing machine aligning bricks for production when the employee was caught between the pusher bar and the setting head, resulting in a fractured pelvis. The machine was energized and was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
On April 15, 2024, an employee was trying to adjust a brick on a machine that was pushing brick out of a building. The machine engaged and pinned his right leg against a cube of brick. His leg was broken and he was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
An employee was repositioning slabs of brick on a conveyor after noticing they were coming out of the pusher area sideways. While adjusting the slabs, a slab of bricks fell onto the employee's right index finger, resulting in amputation.
Two employees were setting up a mandrel in the spindle of a machine. The mandrel was side-shifted while an employee's hand was on the mast of a powered industrial truck. The employee suffered crushing injuries that resulted in amputations to the middle and ring fingertips.
An employee was working to remove a product blockage from a piece of equipment. The employee was struck by a metal bar near the deck of the pin mixer equipment and sustained blunt force trauma to the torso.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 327121)
An employee was packaging brick. A brick broke from the bundle and became lodged between the conveyor rollers. The employee was removing the brick when the bundle of brick shifted forward, catching his left index finger between the bundle and the conveyor roller and resulting in a partial amputation to the fingertip.
An employee was observing the operation of the stacker machine and climbed onto a platform to align bricks in the stacker. While the employee was on the platform, the machine cycled, striking and pinning him to the chain conveyor. The employee suffered abrasions on his arms and hairline fractures of his pelvis.
An employee was picking up broken bricks from the floor to throw into a hopper. A forklift reversed, and its counterweight struck the employee. The employee suffered a broken left foot, as well as injuries to the leg and ankle, and was hospitalized.
An employee was cleaning dust off the photo eye of the dump hopper when it activated and caught his left arm between the dump hopper and the frame of the machine. The employee sustained a left ulnar fracture, an elbow wound and traumatic muscle injury.
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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.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.