Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Preferred Materials, Inc., 2025 Dennis Street, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32204
on — Fractures , affecting the Back lumbar region.
Final narrative
An employee was operating a utility task vehicle (UTV). During a left turn, the vehicle rolled over on its right side. The employee suffered a lumbar strain and fractures to four lower-back vertebrae. She was hospitalized.
Hospitalized Back lumbar region All-terrain vehicle (ATV)
An employee was pulling a hose out of a cement tanker. The hose twisted and the employee tripped over it, falling to the ground and suffering a broken left kneecap.
An employee was using a pipe to fill a 5-gallon bucket from a barrel containing chemical. The pipe broke, allowing chemical to splash and burn the employee's lower body.
An employee was cleaning a water sprinkler system used to keep rock moist before use. The employee as standing on top of the material bin wall. The wall is about 2.5 to 3 feet thick. The height of the wall is about 8 to 9 feet (3-blocks high : 6ft long by 3ft high). The sprinkler system's pipes run on the top of the wall. The employee was cleaning one of the holes on the pipe with both feet on the wall. When the employee was standing up, his right foot slipped and he fell forward 9 feet into the empty bin that was next to it. The employee sustained multiple fractures including the right scapula, left pelvis, lumbar vertebrae and two left ribs.
An employee was mowing a residential lawn at a client's house. The mower slid on the land and tipped over onto him. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured vertebra in the neck and partial paralysis.
An employee was driving a forklift when its right front wheel dropped off a 6-inch curb. The forklift rolled over and trapped him against the concrete surface. He suffered a broken pelvis, ribs, and collarbone, as well as a collapsed lung.
An employee was loading a telehandler onto a trailer and the right wheels were misaligned with the trailer, causing the telehandler to tip and fall to the right. The employee went to exit the telehandler as it fell, striking his head on the cage and frame of the telehandler. The employee sustained a concussion, a head laceration, and fractured vertebrae.
An employee was driving an ATV when it overturned and rolled onto its side. The employee sustained a fractured elbow requiring hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was working from a boom lift, painting wood trim at a second-story roof level. The lift drove over an unmarked dry well, tipped, and catapulted the employee to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to their heels and vertebrae. Fall protection was not being worn at the time of the incident.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 237310)
An employee was operating a battery-powered broom to clean demolition debris off the top of the outermost bridge girder. The girder was approximately 11 feet above the demolition scaffold below. The employee fell approximately 8 feet to wind bracing below. The employee was hospitalized with a pelvis/tailbone fracture. Fall protection was in place at the time.
An employee was cleaning out an inlet pipe in a stormwater structure. The employee stepped back, fell into the pipe, and landed on concrete 13 feet below, at the bottom of the structure. He suffered a broken back.
A concrete batch plant operator was assisting with clearing spoil piles using a skid steer. The skid steer backed into a stationary screen plant. The employee's left little finger was crushed between the controls of the skid steer and the screen plant, resulting in a fracture and laceration. The employee's finger was surgically amputated.
An employee was operating a roller and paving a small pathway next to a pavilion. The ground was on a slight pitch, causing him to reach up toward the roll cage to stabilize himself. His right fifth finger was pinched between the roll cage and the rafter of the pavilion. The employee sustained a partial degloving injury with partial traumatic amputation.
An employee was working with paving equipment and heard a noise on the opposite side of the machine he was working on. When the machine stopped, the employee went to the opposite side and crouched down to investigate the noise. A mini track loader backed up and drove over the employee's leg. The employee sustained fractures to their lower leg, ankle, and foot.
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.