Machine Injury & Accidents

Date	City	State	Employer	Body Part	Event
2021-11-15	Beulah	Nd	Dakota Gasification Company	Upper extremities	Caught in running equipment or machinery, n.e.c.
An employee was inspecting a coal conveyor belt. The idler pulley system caught the employee's clothing and pulled in the employee's arm up to the elbow. The employee suffered multiple fractures and lacerations and was hospitalized.
2021-10-27	Stratton	Oh	Enerfab Power & Industrial, Inc.	Brain	Fall through surface or existing opening more than 30 feet
An employee was exiting a coal conveyor when he stepped on a piece of plywood that broke, causing him to fall approximately 80 feet into a bunker. The employee suffered a broken wrist, a head laceration, and brain bleed.
2021-08-05	Alliance	Ne	Progress Rail (Alliance)	Fingertip(s)	Struck by falling object or equipment
The injured employee was working on an open-top coal car replacing a piece that supports the sides of the car. The injured employee and a co-worker each had a side of the support. As the co-worker unbolted his side, he lost his grip, and the support swung down on the side of the injured employee, amputating their right ring fingertip.
2021-07-13	North Bend	Oh	Vexco Engineering LLC	BODY SYSTEMS	Exposure to environmental heat
An employee was shoveling coal inside the conveyor room, got dizzy, and collapsed. The employee was hospitalized for heat stress.
2020-07-30	Quinton	Alabama	Trans Ash, Inc	Lower leg(s)	Fall or jump from vehicle in normal operation, nonroadway
An employee was operating an excavator to excavate coal combustion residual (CCR) from below ground to create a sump. The sump was being excavated to a lower elevation to allow water to be collected at the bottom and pumped into a ditch. The surface material the excavator was placed on set down vertically approximately 6 to 8 feet. The employee then jumped off the excavator and landed on the ground resulting in a fractured left tibia.
2020-06-02	Batesville	Arkansas	Future Fuel Chemical Company	Multiple body parts	Multiple types of overexertion involving outside sources
An employee was using a rod to clean coal ash out of a bin. The employee felt pain in his upper back, neck, and both arms and was later taken to the hospital.
2020-05-24	Kronenwetter	Wisconsin	Wisconsin Energy Companies	Fingertip(s)	Struck by falling object or equipment
An employee was cleaning a welding table when he bumped the table with his body. A 150-pound part from a coal pulverizer then shifted and fell, pinching the employee's left pinky fingertip between the part and the grating on the table. As a result, his left pinky fingertip was amputated.
2020-05-23	Lawrence	Kansas	Lawrence Energy Center/Evergy	Fingertip(s)	Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment
An employee was opening an inspection door to clean inside a coal chute when his left middle finger was pinched between the door and the piping next to it, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
2020-05-13	Boynton Beach	Florida	Crossmark, Inc.	Chest, except internal location of diseases or disorders	Fall on same level, n.e.c.
An employee was setting 20 lb. charcoal bags at a Publix supermarket when the employee felt dizzy and fell to the floor, suffering a cracked rib and minor cuts to the face and hands.
2020-04-15	Defiance	Ohio	Okuley's Pharmacy & Home Medical, Inc.	Multiple body parts	Ignition of vapors, gases, or liquids
On April 15, 2020, an employee was using an ethanol filter to make sanitizer. As the employee was using a pump to filter ethanol from one 5-gallon bucket (through tubing and a charcoal filter) to another, the ethanol started to spray out and immediately caught fire. The employee suffered second-degree burns to the face, hands, and arms.
2020-03-10	Theodore	Alabama	C&B Fabrication LLC	Upper arm(s)	Struck by discharged object or substance
An employee was blasting a steel structure using black beauty/coal slag as the blast media. The employee lost control of the hose and blasting device and was struck in the upper right arm by the blast media sustaining a laceration and penetration of the skin.
2020-02-25	Bridgeport	Nebraska	Progress Rail Services	Leg(s)	Struck by swinging part of powered vehicle
The injured employee was working on a coal car while the air valves were also being worked on. When air was connected, the doors closed on the injured employee's legs resulting in fractures to both legs.
2020-02-01	Champaign	Illinois	FedEx Ground Package System, Inc.	Multiple body parts	Ignition of vapors, gases, or liquids
On February 1, 2020, a maintenance employee was using a de-greaser containing de-natured alcohol to re-ignite a charcoal grill when the de-greaser caught on fire and flashed/exploded. The employee suffered burns to his arm and face.
2019-06-03	Ellsinore	Missouri	ROYAL OAKS ENTERPRISES, LLC	Nonclassifiable	Contact with hot objects or substances
An employee was closing an air hole on a charcoal kiln with insulation when the kiln surged and fire came out of the hole. The employee sustained third degree burns.
2019-02-02	Hennepin	Illinois	Vistra Energy	Fingertip(s)	Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning
On February 1, 2019, around 11:00 a.m., an employee was troubleshooting a unit at the mill. He was removing the wet coal from the feeder wheel using a three-foot flat steel bar and the bar got caught in the rotating wheel. The employee attempted to pull the bar out and pinched his right middle finger between the bar and the inspection port housing resulting in a laceration and broken bone that required surgery to repair. It later required surgical amputation.
2019-01-10	Leroy	Alabama	Power South Energy Cooperative	Toes(s), toenail(s)	Transportation incident
An employee was helping to moor a coal barge when a rope pinned his foot between it and the barge amputating his left big toe.
2018-06-27	Saint Albans	West Virgini	Hulcher Services, Inc.	Upper arm(s)	Struck by object or equipment
On June 27, 2018, at approximately 11:00 p.m., an employee was injured while winching a derailed coal car. During this procedure a piece of metal came off the car and struck the employee in the stomach and upper right arm. The employee was hospitalized for a severe laceration to the upper right arm.
2018-05-08	Fulton	Arkansas	Southwestern Electric Power Company- Turk Power Plant	Fingertip(s)	Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment
An employee was verifying the belt tension for a belt-driven fan for conveyor coal unloading. The fan was locked out. While checking the belt tension manually, the employee had his left hand on the belt. The mass of the machine allowed the belt to move despite it being locked out, pulling the injured employee's hand into a pinch point. After pulling his hand out, he required a medical amputation of the left ring fingertip.
2018-02-27	Kapolei	Hawaii	McCabe, Hamilton & Renny Co., Ltd.	Multiple body parts	Machinery or equipment incident on water vehicle
An employee was using a loader to unload coal from a vessel when the loader bucket contacted the bucket system moving the coal out of the vessel. The bucket system then lifted the loader, throwing the employee to the deck of the vessel. The employee suffered shoulder and head injuries, requiring hospitalization. A seat belt was not worn at the time of the incident.
2017-06-23	Ackerman	Mississippi	Headwaters Resources, Inc.	Hand(s)	Struck by object falling from vehicle or machinery-other than vehicle part
An employee was using an air chisel to chisel coal ash from the inside of a chute when a piece of ash fell from the chute and struck the employee's left hand, causing a 3-inch laceration.
2017-06-04	Pryor	Oklahoma	Cabot Norit America	Nonclassifiable	Struck by falling object or equipment
An employee was performing maintenance on a conveyor belt below a bin of coal when a bin broke loose and fell on the employee, who suffered lacerations and broken bones.
2016-07-12	Reading	Pennsylvania	F.M. Brown's Sons, Inc.	Hip(s)	Other fall to lower level
While in the yard, an employee climbed on top of a truck to level off a load of coal, lost his balance and fell off. The employee was hospitalized for a contusion and hematoma on the right hip.
2016-04-29	Newton	Illinois	Hi-Tech Industial Services, Inc.	Hand(s)	Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment
An employee's hand was broken while attempting to remove coal debris from between the journal and the table of the 2E coal mill base.
2016-03-20	Aberdeen	Ohio	Defcon Force, LLC	Multiple body parts	Ignition of vapors, gases, or liquids
An employee was cutting welds inside a coal pulverizer when coal dust fell from above and caused a flash fire. The employee suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns to the face, hand, and arm.
2015-12-28	Jewett	Texas	NRG Limestone Plant	Hip(s)	Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation
An employee was injured when he was pulled into a coal conveyor belt system. He was taken to the hospital and treated for a broken hip.
2015-12-16	Follansbee	West Virgini	Koppers, Inc.	Multiple body parts	Contact with hot objects or substances
On December 16, 2015, at approximately 2:52p.m., an employee was hospitalized after receiving burns to his neck, ears, head, and hands. The employee was preparing to unload a coal tar pitch railcar. The line on the railcar was opened without relieving pressure and material sprayed onto the worker.
2015-02-17	Moundsville	West Virgini	American Electric Power	Hand(s)	Direct exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts
On February 17, 2015, at approximately 5:30pm, an arc flash occurred while an employee rolled in a 4kv breaker to the Coal Yard Area. The employee received small first and second degree burns to his right and left hands.
2015-01-12	Mobile	Alabama	Rob't J. Baggett, Incorporated	Chest, except internal location of diseases or disorders	Jack-knifed or overturned, nonroadway
An employee was operating a lull (large fork lift) to move steel when he went off the road and drove over soft coal. The right side wheels left the ground and the truck tipped over, resulting in broken ribs and hospitalization.
2015-01-07	Belgrade	Montana	Warren Transport	Lower leg(s)	Struck by or caught in swinging door or gate
Employee received a broken right tibia when he entered a belly dump trailer to remove coal ash that was stuck to the inside walls. The dump gates lost power, causing them to close on the employee's leg.