Exposure to change in water pressure · Caisson disease, bends, divers' palsy
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at J.F. Brennan Company, Inc., 12601 E 143rd Street, GORE, OKLAHOMA 74435
on — Caisson disease, bends, divers' palsy, affecting the BODY SYSTEMS .
Final narrative
At 3:00 p.m., an employee surfaced from a dive after being underwater at a depth of 50 feet for less than 30 minutes. The employee left work at 6:00 p.m. and began experiencing a racing heart rate. They were hospitalized due to type II decompression sickness.
Hospitalized BODY SYSTEMS Water pressure high or low
More severe injuries at J.F. Brennan Company, Inc.
An employee was aligning bolts on an excavator counterweight weighing 4400 pounds during assembly. The counterweight slid sideways and pinned the employee's left arm between it and the surface level causing a fracture below the elbow.
An employee was underwater, hand-dredging loose material from the bottom of a water-filled pump vault. While ascending from a depth of 30 feet (on a non-decompression profile), the employee sustained an over-pressurization injury to their lungs.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 237990)
A crew was installing drilled micropiles alongside an outdoor covered deck foundation. The injured employee was working the front of the drill when a loose section of casing dropped onto the tip of a rig wrench and pulled the wrench down to an embedded casing. The employee's left little finger was caught between the rig wrench and the embedded casing and was amputated above the top knuckle.
An employee was standing on an extension ladder, using a torquing tool to remove bolts that secured blades to a rotor. When the torquing tool activated, its reaction arm came around and pinched the employee's right middle finger against a lifting eye. His fingertip was amputated.
Employees were securing the fuel line of an outboard motor in preparation for removing the motor from a small vessel located in the equipment yard. A gasoline-related fire occurred and one employee sustained burns to both hands and forearms.
A marine diver/construction worker was working underwater, using a hydraulic dredge to clear sediment away from the base of a dam. The dredge's suction nozzle began migrating toward him, and then pulled in his right hand and forearm. He sustained compartment syndrome in the hand and forearm.
An employee was standing on a sheet of -inch by 4-foot by 8-foot plywood on top of a rebar mat, supervising his crew. As he was moving to alert the crew to an incoming overhead load, he stepped off the plywood and his left foot slipped through the rebar mat and landed on the rebar mat below. His left ankle was broken and dislocated.
An employee was helping to move a 1,300-pound coil on a cart. The steel caster hit a crack in the concrete, the weld holding the caster onto the cart broke, and the coil and cart tipped over onto the employee. He was hospitalized with a laceration on his forehead and a pelvic fracture on his right side.
An employee was working in the food service warehouse when he experienced chest pain, difficulty breathing, and lost consciousness. The employee sustained carbon monoxide poisoning.
An employee was cutting a piece of metal rod with a metal cutting machine. His right middle finger became caught between the rod and the machine's table. The employee's fingertip was partially amputated.
An employee was working at her desk. She went to stand up and fell to the floor beside the desk. The employee sustained a hip displacement and required surgery.
An employee was processing wood boards at a chop saw when the saw malfunctioned and the blade cut her left hand and fingers. She was hospitalized and her little finger was surgically amputated.