Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Big River Steel, LLC, 2027 E State Highway 198, OSCEOLA, ARKANSAS 72370
on — Fractures , affecting the Hip joint(s).
Final narrative
An employee was doing a cable change on top of an electric overhead traveling (EOT) crane. They were positioned between the cable drum and the drive shaft. While rotating the cable drum, the employee reached for the new cable that was to be installed. The grease fitting on the drive shaft caught their fall harness and pulled them underneath the drive shaft. The employee was pinned between the drive shaft and two pieces of angle steel, resulting in a fracture to their left hip.
Hospitalized Hip joint(s) Cranes gantry, overhead, monorail, container
On June 22, 2025, an employee was performing scheduled maintenance at a ladle metallurgical furnace vault. As the employee was replacing a shear pin, they contacted an energized circuit, resulting in an arc flash. The employee sustained second-degree burns to their buttocks and both legs.
On September 1, 2024, an employee was clearing the metal material from the head of a bander as it was becoming misaligned. The gate was closed and it fell on the employee's right index finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
On June 25, 2024, at 4:00 PM, an employee was installing a new top on a scrap table when the top came down and pinched their left little finger, resulting in amputation of the finger at the first knuckle.
An employee was during utility work during the second shift, 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. At about 9:45 p.m., he began to feel hot and switched to light duty. At about 6:40 a.m., he felt ill and developed heat cramps. He was hospitalized, suffering from a heat-related illness.
Two employees were moving 12-inch-thick rolls of steel. While they were putting one of the rolls into place, it rolled back onto one employee's right hand, lacerating and breaking it.
A temporary employee turned off a planer machine, opened the housing, and began clearing a jam. The machine's spinning blade caught his right hand and degloved the index finger.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.
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.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 331110)
An employee was working to close a furnace door. The hydraulic mechanism that opens and closes the furnace door was non-operational and had been disconnected to allow the furnace door to be opened manually. As the employee was releasing the pins that held the door open, the door and the hydraulic cylinder fell, pinching their left hand between the hydraulic cylinder's base plate and the furnace. The employee suffered amputation of the little fingertip.
A rolling mill was shut down due to a cobble between two mill stands. The injured employee was cleaning the cobble from the delivery side of stand A, while another employee went to the control panel to move stand B and stand A moved instead. The injured employee's right thumb got caught between the delivery guide of stand A and the looper trough. The tip of his thumb required surgical amputation to the bone to allow for stitches.
An employee was helping another employee load stock material onto a press brake when the stock slipped. The injured employee's right index finger was caught between the press brake die and the stock, resulting in amputation at the first knuckle.
An employee was loading a pallet. They stepped off the pallet and landed on shrink wrap, which caused them to fall to the concrete floor. The employee suffered a laceration on their head.
An employee was operating an ironworker (steel punching/shearing) machine. A piece of the tooling broke off and struck the employee's neck; a fragment was lodged in his neck. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
On October 25, 2025, an employee was stringing up a new reel of tire tread on a machine. The employee pulled a 6-inch tail and proceeded to spool up the liner. As the machine was jogged to begin the liner wrapping process, the liner caught the employee's glove and pulled their right arm into the liner, causing a fracture to the arm.
On October 5, 2025, an employee was pulling a pressure washer hose when it it disconnected from the cooker. The employee was struck by jets of high-pressure water, resulting in lacerations to their left thigh requiring surgery. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was inspecting a pipe in the rice cooking area near an oven. While checking for a clog, the fingers of their right hand were caught in an airlock at the base of the pipe. All the fingers were amputated except the thumb. The employee was hospitalized.