Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at ABF Freight System, 801 Terry Lane, WASHINGTON, MISSOURI 63090
on — Fractures , affecting the Skull.
Final narrative
An employee was loading a medical bed into a trailer when the freight began to fall, striking the employee on the head. He fell to the ground at the same level and struck his head on the concrete. The employee sustained a fractured skull.
An employee was entering the cab of his truck after fueling when he fell and hit his head on the tractor step or door well. He was hospitalized for bleeding on the brain and required sutures.
An employee used starting fluid as a cleaning agent. Afterward, he lit a cigarette that ignited chemical residue on his hands. He sustained burns to the face and bilateral upper and lower extremities.
An employee was unloading freight (gun safe) at the dock. It became unstable on the pallet and tipped over, falling on the employee's left foot and fracturing it. The employee was hospitalized for surgery on the left foot.
An employee was moving a 3-ton condensing unit, strapped down on a dolly, out of a garage. The strap broke, causing the employee to fall backward onto the brick pavered driveway. The employee suffered injury to a spinal ligament in the neck.
An employee was talking to a child on the playground, when the child grabbed her hand to lead her away. The employee stepped, lost her balance, and fell over. The employee was hospitalized with a fracture of her lower left leg and required surgery.
An employee was lowering a safe stack beam inside a trailer. The beam released, causing the employee to fall back and strike his head on the trailer floor. He was hospitalized with a brain bleed and a concussion.
An employee was on the ground working to close a trailer door. The door was caught by the wind and blew the employee backward. He landed on his back and sustained four fractured ribs, requiring hospitalization.
An employee fell while exiting a trailer. The employee landed on their left side on the pavement, suffering multiple broken ribs on the left side. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was hooking up a set of 28-foot trailers, attaching a converter dolly to the lead trailer's pintle hook. He backed up the lead trailer and parked it a foot from the converter dolly, then lifted the converter dolly and rolled it to the lead trailer to set it onto the hook. The converter dolly kicked up, and the employee's left hand was caught between it and the trailer. He suffered a severe laceration to the palm between the ring finger and middle finger.
An employee was cleaning the windshield of his truck. When he stepped down from the truck, he lost balance and reached to catch himself using the side mirror. The impact fractured his left wrist. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was standing on the DOT bumper on the back of a standard 53-foot trailer. The employee lost his footing and his grip on the handle bar, and fell approximately 42 inches to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured left hip/femur.
A driver was making a delivery. As he was climbing onto his trailer to get boxes, the strap he was using to pull himself up broke. He fell from the back of the trailer to the ground, landing on his right leg and breaking his femur.
An employee was readjusting a safety hook to remove hardware from gang forms when his feet slipped. He fell to the ground, resulting in a broken left arm and wrist.
An employee was on a step ladder in a store aisle, making room on shelving for merchandise. She fell from the step ladder to the floor, suffering two fractures in her left leg. She was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was closing the side cargo door to a company van. The tip of his finger got caught between the door and the door jamb, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee lost his footing while climbing an inclined ladder. He stumbled down one step and was able to stabilize himself by holding the railing and twisting his body, but he suffered an internal abdominal injury and was hospitalized.