Exposure to environmental heat outdoor · Effects of heat n.e.c.
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at NKS Distributors, 305 Rehoboth Avenue, REHOBOTH BEACH, DELAWARE 19971
on — Effects of heat n.e.c., affecting the BODY SYSTEMS .
Final narrative
An employee was conducting a delivery of beverage products and began having cramps due to dehydration. The employee was hospitalized.
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.
An employee was operating a rider pallet jack when it struck a stand-up forklift. The forks struck both of the employee's ankles, resulting in hospitalization.
An employee was working to repair a machine with a broken metal stopper. She removed the stopper and used a roll of tape to temporarily secure it. While she was moving it back into place to fix the machine, the residual pressure of the plastic pallets forced the stopper down, resulting in her right thumb becoming stuck between two metal parts. The thumb was amputated.
An employee was changing the battery on his forklift. He removed the forklift's battery plate and exited the battery machine alignment track. The shift lead then went to retrieve a new battery. The employee entered the battery machine alignment track again to unplug the charging cable. The battery changing equipment proceeded forward and pinned the employee against the forklift. The employee was hospitalized with two fractured ribs.
An employee took a picture of the seal and license plate on a delivery truck after loading. The truck then reversed back to the dock and pinned the injured employee against the dock. The employee sustained an abdominal fracture.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
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.
An employee was driving and delivering packages when he experienced back spasms and lost consciousness. The employee was hospitalized for heat exhaustion and injury to his kidney.