Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at K. & M. Electric of Schofield, Inc., 601 S. Center Avenue, MERRILL, WISCONSIN 54452
on — Fractures , affecting the Upper and lower extremities n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was dismantling a decommissioned electrical panel when the unit fell on him, resulting in a compound fracture in his leg and a broken arm that required hospitalization.
Hospitalized Upper and lower extremities n.e.c. Switchboards, panels, fuses
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was unloading frameless mirrors from a trailer. When unstrapped, the mirrors fell over onto the employee, who suffered a skull fracture, a brain bleed and blood clot, a broken left ankle, and lacerations.
A temporary employee was rigging secondary steel when the steel joist fell to the ground and struck his lower left leg, resulting in fractures to the tibia and fibula.
Two maintenance employees were dismantling a machine part (steel cylindrical rollers) on the ground. After unbolting a portion, part of the assembly fell approximately 6 inches onto one employee's left little finger. The employee was hospitalized and about 3/4" of their little finger above the top joint was surgically amputated.
An employee was troubleshooting the control setup for a variable air volume box above a ceiling. The employee's hand came into contact with an exposed, energized 277-volt wire that had loosened from its terminal on the box's assembly. He was shocked and fell off a ladder. His left hand passed across the ceiling grid and was lacerated. He also suffered an electrical burn to the right hand and was hospitalized.
An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.
An employee was standing on an A-frame ladder approximately 6 feet above the floor while he attached a suspended light fixture to the ceiling. The employee lost balance, and fell to the tiled floor below, sustaining blunt force trauma to his head.
An employee was inspecting the overhead area of a single-person lift and repositioning the lift through a double doorway. As they were transitioning through the doorway, they were caught between the doorframe and the vertical mast of the lift. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to the nose, left maxillary sinus, left orbital bone, and left jaw, with fractures at the maxillary sinus area.
The injured employee was performing routine maintenance on a fan belt/pulley. The injured employee and another person were moving the pulley back and forth manually to find a bearing issue. The injured employee's left ring finger got caught between the belt and the pulley wheel, resulting in a soft tissue amputation.
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 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.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.
An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.