Exposure to environmental heat outdoor · Effects of heat n.e.c.
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at United Parcel Service, Inc., 15994 S. Dupont Hwy, HARRINGTON, DELAWARE 19952
on — Effects of heat n.e.c., affecting the BODY SYSTEMS .
Final narrative
On June 19, 2025, a package delivery driver became ill while completing his route. He was hospitalized, having suffered a kidney injury due to dehydration.
Hospitalized BODY SYSTEMS Heat environmental
More severe injuries at United Parcel Service, Inc.
An employee was making deliveries when he started to feel ill. He returned to the office but started feeling worse. The employee was hospitalized with heat stroke and a kidney injury.
On July 23, 2025, an employee was loading irregular packages into a truck. A pole that was being shipped fell from from an upright position and struck the employee on the head, resulting in a concussion.
On July 22, 2025, at approximately 4:30 a.m. after the previous day's shift, an employee was hospitalized with a kidney injury caused by heat-related illness. The employee had worked several consecutive days delivering packages in high outdoor heat and humidity without cooling gear.
On October 7, 2025, employee was installing mulch with a landscape crew. At around 2:15 PM, the employee took a break and started to feel cramping/pain. The employee was taken to the hospital with rhabdomyolysis due to heat exhaustion.
A temporary employee was on top of a cane wagon, throwing cane down to the ground (i.e., planting). He reached the end of the field row and started to feel ill. He experienced cramping and headaches due to heat exhaustion.
A maintenance technician was working to clear a box jam. He slipped while stepping down from a platform and fell about 30 inches onto the grading platform. He fell onto his right hip and was hospitalized with a back injury requiring surgery.
An employee was unloading packages from a package wall. When he picked up a package and turned to move it, another package on the wall fell. A 3-foot tube on the package struck the employee's right big toe, causing hospitalization with an open displaced fracture of the proximal phalanx of the toe.
An employee was opening the doors to a trailer while making a delivery when the wind caught the door and their hand was caught in the door. The employee sustained a displaced fracture of the distal phalanx of their left index finger.
After clearing a jam on a secured conveyor belt, an employee walked back to step down, lost their footing, and fell onto the ground outside a bay door. The employee was hospitalized with a fracture to their left arm/elbow.
A flagger was directing traffic flow in a highway work zone. They were standing approximately 1.5 feet behind the shoulder's demarcating line, next to and slightly behind a traffic drum. As they were directing traffic into and out of the driveway of a parking lot, a car attempted to get around a truck and struck the traffic drum, which subsequently struck the employee, who was thrown 15 feet and landed on top of concrete aggregate. The employee suffered pelvic and rib fractures, T10 and L3 vertebra fractures, and internal bleeding.
An employee was troubleshooting a power washer in the field. Because there might have been water in its fuel, he brought it back to the shop and drained about a gallon of fuel from the tank into a plastic container. Some of the fuel spilled onto the floor and ignited. The employee was stomping out the fire when he lost his balance and tripped into a stool, which caused the plastic container to spill more fuel onto the fire. The employee's pants and shirt caught on fire, and he fell, abrading his knee while trying to get through the flames. As well as the knee abrasion, he suffered burns to the left leg and left lower quadrant of the torso. He was hospitalized.
An employee was backing up a tram (towing powered industrial equipment) to connect it to a trash bin. The employee's left forearm/wrist was caught and crushed between the tram and the bin. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee went to lift a carton and tripped on a different carton that was on the floor. She fell on the floor in the backroom and sustained a fractured right hip, and abrasions to her arm and knee. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.