Southwest Galvanizing, Inc.

The injured employee was cutting wire on a galvanized steel piece. Another employee was transporting their piece over the injured employee using two monorail cranes. One crane moved and the other remained stationary, causing the rigging to fail and the fabricated steel frame fell and struck the injured employee in the back/neck area. The employee was hospitalized for four broken ribs and a right shoulder contusion.

An employee was looking for surface imperfections in material before it was galvanized. An I-beam fell over and struck the employee in the left leg, breaking it.

An employee was handling a bundle of steel beams that he needed to be side-by-side. He pushed the top beam and it became unbalanced. It fell on his left hand that was resting on the bottom beam. It lacerated the tips of his fingers, resulting in the amputation of the distal portion of his ring and middle fingers.

An employee was monitoring a dipping operation through an observation window on the closed door of a hot dip galvanizing kettle. Zinc spattered from the kettle, entering the top of the employee's boot and causing a third-degree burn to his left heel. Personal protective equipment was being worn at the time of the incident, but pants were tucked into boots.

After the galvanizing cycle, material (product) is no longer in the zinc, but is still inside the kettle, at which point two workers will skim the zinc off the top of the kettle. Two monorail cranes carry this beam in and out of the kettle housing. The cranes have chains connected to a bow that holds the beam. The chain between the lifting block of the crane and bow failed; one end of the beam fell, hit the molten zinc vat, and caused a splash. The injured employee was wearing a Nomex suit, face shield, and eye glasses at the time. The surface of this vat is at about waist level. The densest portion of the splash hit the injured employee in the groin, burned through the Nomex coveralls, and caused third-degree burns. Another portion of the splash hit the employee on the chest/abdomen area and caused second-degree burns. A small splash of molten zinc also hit the employee's face, and the last portion landed on one of the injured employee's feet, causing a burn.

The injured employee was walking through the warehouse. Another associate was driving a forklift with a pallet of large format tile (slabs) when the slabs began to tip. The injured employee ran over to stop the slabs from falling, but the slabs fell on his lower left leg/foot. The employee sustained fractures in his lower leg and foot. He was hospitalized and required surgery.

An employee was directing a truck driver to a dump site when the truck's peanut trailer slipped off the kingpin. As the trailer fell, a ladder attached to it lacerated the employee's ear. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was helping offload an aircraft. She was standing in the opening between a parked cart and an unoccupied aircraft tug when another vehicle struck a stationary bag cart, which then struck her. The employee suffered a skull fracture near the right eye, a right kneecap fracture, a nose fracture, and sinus damage, as well as soft tissue damage to the left calf and hip. She was hospitalized and required surgery.

The injured employee was standing by one of the stationary computers along the wall. There was a half-pallet located approximately 3 feet behind the employee that consisted of 12-pound boxes stacked six boxes high. A forklift was transporting a pallet that came in contact with the stationary pallet behind the injured employee, causing four boxes to fall and contact their legs. The injured employee was hospitalized with leg injuries.

An employee was inspecting a direct-current cable that was going to be pulled with the help of a vehicle. The cable was made from two cables coupled together that each measured 2 inches in diameter. The cable came free of its pulley and struck the employee's left ankle, resulting in a fractured ankle and injured thumb.

An employee was working to remove waste wire between two boat rack/spreader bars (10 feet in length, 8 inches wide, and 16 inches tall, with a center lifting point for a crane hook) in the hanging department. One boat rack was leaning on another boat rack. The employee reached between the boat racks to move the leaning boat rack and remove the waste wire. The leaning boat rack shifted and the employee's left index finger was pinched between the two racks (weighing approximately 600 pounds each). The employee sustained an abrasive amputation of the left index fingertip from the nailbed up.

An employee was performing maintenance on a coating machine and the belt cover guard was removed to repair the belt. The moving belt caught the employee's fingers and pulled them between the belts, injuring three fingers on the employee's left hand. The fingernails were removed from their little and middle fingers. The ring finger was amputated at the first knuckle.

An employee tripped, fell to the floor, and suffered a broken right radius. The employee was hospitalized, requiring surgery.

An employee was stacking steel grating. The grating moved and their right ring finger got caught between grating. The last digit of the ring finger was amputated.

An employee was cleaning a rotor plate in the sound room. A ventilation pipe was pushed through an opening in a wall while equipment was being reassembled after cleaning. The employee was struck by the falling pipe (14 inches long, 10-inch diameter) and sustained a severe laceration to the right hand, a fractured finger, and a lacerated tendon. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.

An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.

An employee was inspecting flares processes. The employee received burns to the front side of the body, face and arm from the flares.

An employee was removing plastic material from a production line when the machine cycled and amputated his left index, ring, and little fingers.

An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.