Other fall to lower level less than 6 feet · Fractures and soft tissue injuries
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Bechtel Energy Construction Services, Inc., 48326 State Highway 48, PORT ISABEL, TEXAS 78578
on — Fractures and soft tissue injuries, affecting the Ankle(s).
Final narrative
An employee was standing on a sheet of -inch by 4-foot by 8-foot plywood on top of a rebar mat, supervising his crew. As he was moving to alert the crew to an incoming overhead load, he stepped off the plywood and his left foot slipped through the rebar mat and landed on the rebar mat below. His left ankle was broken and dislocated.
An employee was assisting three coworkers with loading a fall protection metal storage cage onto a wooden pallet. Their right index finger was pinched between the pallet and the bottom of the cage, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
On July 3, 2025, at approximately 9:45 PM, an employee was operating a utility task vehicle (UTV) on a project road when the UTV struck the rear of a reversing bulldozer. The employee struck their head and face on the UTV dashboard and collapsed onto a UTV passenger. The employee was hospitalized with a forehead laceration, a nasal fracture, and central cord syndrome. The other employee on the UTV sustained a bruised left forearm and was not hospitalized.
An employee was cutting a synthetic securing strap from a bundle of I-beams. One end of an I-beam rolled off the skid and struck the employee's legs, fracturing both fibulas.
At 9:44 p.m. on October 9, 2024, an employee was helping rig and move a bundle containing about 30 pieces of 48-foot, 6-inch rebar. The employee was caught between the moving rebar bundle and a landed stationary rebar bundle, suffering a liver laceration and a non-displaced fracture of the tenth rib.
An employee fell while exiting a trailer. The employee landed on their left side on the pavement, suffering multiple broken ribs on the left side. The employee was hospitalized.
A driver was exiting his vehicle outside the plant gate when his foot slipped on the top step of the truck. He fell to the ground, landed on his left hip and elbow. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured hip/femur.
Two employees were removing a service lift platform from the back of a radar system. While handling the service lift platform, employee 2 was standing on the back of the radar and lost their footing, causing the service lift platform to shift and fall. The injured employee then fell from the top of the platform electronic subsystem (PES) to the floor, approximately 56 inches. The injured employee fractured his left elbow and left hip.
An employee fell from a loading dock to the ground 2-3 feet below. She suffered a compound fracture of the left hip and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee assisted in cleaning material from a conveyor pit. After the pit was cleaned, the employee proceeded to replace metal safety plates to ensure other employees did not fall into the pit. While replacing one of the last plates, the employee mis-stepped and fell approximately 5 feet into the pit. The employee was hospitalized with back/side bruising, elbow bruising, bone bruises, and/or fractured ribs.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 237990)
A crew was installing drilled micropiles alongside an outdoor covered deck foundation. The injured employee was working the front of the drill when a loose section of casing dropped onto the tip of a rig wrench and pulled the wrench down to an embedded casing. The employee's left little finger was caught between the rig wrench and the embedded casing and was amputated above the top knuckle.
An employee was standing on an extension ladder, using a torquing tool to remove bolts that secured blades to a rotor. When the torquing tool activated, its reaction arm came around and pinched the employee's right middle finger against a lifting eye. His fingertip was amputated.
Employees were securing the fuel line of an outboard motor in preparation for removing the motor from a small vessel located in the equipment yard. A gasoline-related fire occurred and one employee sustained burns to both hands and forearms.
A marine diver/construction worker was working underwater, using a hydraulic dredge to clear sediment away from the base of a dam. The dredge's suction nozzle began migrating toward him, and then pulled in his right hand and forearm. He sustained compartment syndrome in the hand and forearm.
An employee was observing a spool that was pulling tracer wire in order to ensure the wire stayed on track. A strand on the wire disconnected and struck the employee's face, resulting in an avulsion to the scalp and forehead, a concussion, a laceration on the right eyelid, and abrasions around the neck.
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 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.