UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At approximately 11:30 a.m. on July 10, 2019, an employee was attempting to loos en a bolt with a hydraulic wrench. To replace the O-ring in the cylinder of a ba ler unit, two heavy equipment repair employees (without being don in fall protec tion) used a rented JLG to gain access to the cylinder, which was at a height of approximately 13 plus feet. The employee was working on the baler and was tryi ng to remove the bolts from the cylinder. Unable to adequately seat the hydrauli c wrench on the last bolt, the employee stepped outside of the basket of the JLG to stand on the base of the upper part of the cylinder. As the coworker began t o activate the hydraulic wrench, the wrench twisted off of the bolt, almost stri king the employee in the face. To avoid being hit by the wrench, the employee pu shed the tool away; which caused him to lose his balance and fall into the baler below. The employee sustained multiple fractures including a fracture of the a nkle; four fractured vertebrae, and a fracture of the pelvis that required a ste el plate with surgical screws to close. The employee was hospitalized for these injuries.