Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Applied Cooling Technologies, LLC, 28261 Woodlawn Drive, PUNTA GORDA, FLORIDA 33982
on — Fractures , affecting the Trunk and other upper extremities.
Final narrative
An employee was laying underneath a cooler block while jacking up the tie bar to secure it to horses when the cooler block fell off the horses and onto the employee, resulting in several fractures to the pelvis, clavicle, wrist and tailbone.
Hospitalized Trunk and other upper extremities Cooling and humidifying machinery, appliances unspecified
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
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 attempting to lift a steel beam from a horizontal, stacked position to a vertical position using a crane. They had placed two hooks on the east side of the beam on the flange. As the employee was hoisting the crane, the beam began to shift and pulled the employee forward onto the stack. When the material shifted, the hooks released and the material fell, pinning the employee between the two beams. The employee was hospitalized with soft tissue contusions on their proximal right thigh and interior left thigh.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
An employee was climbing a ladder on a water cooling tower when they fell approximately 15 to 20 feet to the ground, resulting in a fractured left elbow.
An employee was preparing to sand a metal shaft that was loaded into a lathe when his left arm became entangled in the machine. The employee sustained several broken bones.
An employee was removing the banding from a load of mechanical supports, when one fell forward onto his left leg. The employee sustained a laceration to the lower leg and was hospitalized.
An employee was rotating a channel ring using a two-hooked wire cable. The channel ring rotated when only one hook was secured. The loose hook grabbed the nameplate of the channel ring and made it fall to the ground. It spun around like a coin and, when it came to a stop, it landed on the employee's foot, resulting in a laceration and tissue damage.
An employee was helping a coworker transport a tall palm tree with a mini skid steer. The employee was severely shocked by a high-voltage electrical wire above the ground.
An employee was retrieving a Christmas tree from a shelf using a ladder. He missed a step and fell to the concrete floor. He sustained injury to his head and wrist.
An employee was operating an agricultural tractor during sugarcane harvesting. The employee sustained a lumbar sprain due to vibration or motion from the tractor.
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.