Mechanic was under a dozer looking for a leak on the equalizer bar. Once the mechanic found the problem, EE went to crawl out from underneath the dozer EE used EE's arm to assist self in getting up. In this process EE's left shoulder dislocated from the socket.
Search the record
Every injury and fatality MSHA has on file. Filter by state, year, sector, classification, experience, or any keyword from the investigator's narrative.
- Total incidents
- 273,193
- Of which fatal
- 1,202
- Years on record
- 2000–2026
- Classifications
- 20
Alert me on this search
Email me when a new incident matches these filters. One confirmation email; unsubscribe anytime.
91 total records
Showing 50 of 91Dragline operator cut the tip of finger while reinstalling a lower hoist chain pin during a PM. Dragline Operator's ring and pinky fingers were pinched under the pin's locking collar cap, with the ring finger taking most of the injury. The tip of the ring finger was cut off with only slight pinch damage to the pinky.
Grass fire was started when a 230,000 volt transmission line fell to the ground in the highway 314 right of way. The fire spread to mine property in the pond 24 pit 16 area of the mine. Local fire departments and mine personnel contained the fire. Fire was extinguished. No injuries or damage to property.
Grass fire along Highway 314 spread from highway right of way on to mine property in the B/C section of pit 11. Fire was contained with local fire departments and mine personnel and equipment. No injuries. Highway right of way fence posts burned. Unknown how fire started on the highway right of way.
Due to high winds and extremely dry range conditions, a broken insulator and associated wind slap arc on the West Decker main feed 345Kv power line initiated an approximately 500 acre grass fire. Decker Mine personnel along with local fire fighting resources brought the fire under control at 5:30 PM.
Installing pin in spreader bar for dragline rigging, pin started in hole and was not down completely reached to grab pin, then grabbed pin and pin fell into hole completely, which entrapped ring & middle finger, causing them to be smashed. Went to hospital where X-rays showed no breaks, but did result in nine stitches to ring finger.
All evidence indicates that a bird got into a 34,500 kV overhead power line near the West Decker prill silos. The resulting incineration of the bird resulted in approximately 50 acres of native rangeland being burned. Other than 2 power poles being charred, no structures or equipment were near the fire.
When the pin was backed out of a rear trailer strut, it swung free & struck the employee in the lower lip.
Injured employee crushed left little finger between the flat bed pickup rail and replacement dragline bucket tooth that ee was loading into the truck bed.
Driven by high winds, a power line disconnect switch located at pole #80 on the N side of pit 15 - arced igniting dry grass. When the fire was discovered a 657 scraper, 16G blade and wildland truck contained and extinguished fire in 1 hour 10 minutes.
After the coal shot was initiated, the dust cloud ignited into a large fireball & with gusting winds ignited native grasses/timber to the Southeast of the pitwall. The water truck & wild land fire truck were staged appropriately but the gusting winds carried hot embers from the fireball onto native grasses & the resulting fire spread very quickly.
While climbing aboard a Euclid CH-150, the employee stumbled to the ground when one of the rubber straps for the boarding steps broke. Decker Coal is filing this form under protest, as no injury resulted from this incident. Decker Coal has to file this 7000-1 form in order to abate a citation resulting from a miners complaint on 12/20/2016.
While inspecting the bin level measuring system on a prill storage silo the injured employee suffered facial and skull lacerations when the unsecured manhole cover fell on to the employees head. Injuries would have been more severe had the injured employee not had EE's hard hat on.
In preparation of a dragline cable move, injured employee cut the top of EE's left hand with a "retractable" blade utility knife while cutting a plastic zip-tie that was securing the cable ends. The resulting cut required medical attention and six stitches to close the wound.
Operator bounced over a large chunk of coal & hurt back/knee. Operator came in at end of shift & told supervisor about the incident. Operator did not need request medical attention at that time. Several days later operator went to doctor for sore knee. Decker Coal is filing this form under protest due to the extenuating circumstances related to this incident.
Employee observed gap between belt wiper and belt while system was operating. The employee leaned toward the belt for a closer look and the employee's glove was snagged by the belt. Which caused his forearm to get pinched between the return roller and the belt wiper resulting in a broken right distal ulna bone in the right forearm.
Dragline dozer operator was getting off the dragline. As he got to the bottom of the boarding ladder he lost his grip of the handrail with his right hand causing him to strain his back again. Employee has history of chronic lumbar disc disease and doctor has prescribed medication.
Hot coal embers were discovered on the #2 feeder pan under #1 silo at the west coal plant. Water was used to extinguish the hot embers and the silo was emptied. Msha was called as a precaution if the hot embers could not have been controlled in 30 minutes.
A fire occurred in the West Coal plant under silo #2. Appears that spontanous combustion of coal took place in the silo feeder and fell from the center feeder above the belt onto the belt and igniting the belt. The plant had not been operated for 3 days prior to the fire.
Employee has worked in maintenance as a mechanic/welder for 38 years. After 38 years his thumb joints in both hands have deteriorated to the point that he had to have surgery to repair the joints.
Two scrapers were in a push pull operation when one scraper bumped into the other one
Operator was panning down haul road in a scraper, another scraper coming off fill canned up and the operator was about to put cushion hook back on when he hit a hole. He pulled a muscle in his neck.
Employee was hooking up a coolant hot start coupler. As he was pushing the coupler together he felt a pain in his left shoulder. He was taken to the doctor for evaluation. The doctor prescribed medication and released him to return to work. Further evaluation to follow.
Employee is a utility oiler and has being doing oiling duties for 25 years. He states that he has developed a hernia on his right side, he had a hernia on his left side 12 years prior. His duties include pulling a 2 inch diameter hose off a hose reel and fueling heavy equipment along with climbing on and off equipment to check fluid levels.
At the East Coal Plant. A hinged inspection plate was opened to help align a cover with holes on the mounting bracket. The cover bound up and while trying to relieve the bind in the cover the employee placed his right hand in line with the plate. When the bind released the plate came down on the employee's right index finger. Right finger to be severed.
Two employees were trying to let down the mast on a light plant. The employees were trying to pull the base of the mast up so the mast could lay down. The mast slid back into the channel lacerating the end of the right ring finger on one of the employees hand. Medical attention required to apply stitches to the finger.
Warehouseman was moving a pallet of parts. He lifted one end of the pallet up and as he set it back down, his right index finger was pinched between the pallet and the part on the pallet underneath, requiring medical evaluation.
Drill operator opened the cab door on an overburden drill. When he closed the door his left thumb was shut in the door lacerating the end of the thumb.
Electrician trainee was carrying a 14 pound box of brushes for a dragline motor from the warehouse to his truck, when he felt his back give out, almost dropping the box. He continued to work and his back pain became worse. At 1:00PM he was in for lunch and his back pain got worse.
Dragline operator was placing the boarding steps into place to start a repair on dragline. He removed the step from the storage area and dropped the steps on his left foot resulting in fracturing two bones in his left foot.
Employee, a mechanic was removing a tie rod from a CH 150 coal hauler. While holding onto tie rod, another mechanic knocked tie rod loose injuring the back of the employee holding onto tie rod. The tie rod weight is about 50# and only one end was taken off truck.
EE was holding flexible conduit while sliding a nut down on a junction box and felt a pain in his shoulder. This incident could be an aggravation to a pre-existing condition as the employee has had recent surgeries to both shoulders. Doctor states he suffers from an occupational disease. Employee has missed no work to date pending medical diagnosis or treatment
Oiler was moving cable @ Dragline and felt a pop in wrist. Xrays showed no positve findings and he returned to work. On 6-10-09 emp. returned to doc for MRI which showed small fracure on wrist. Emp. again has been released to work pending further diagnosis as he suffers from Heinbocks disease, a rare bone disorder. Emp. has missed no work due to his injury.
Cat 518 skidder door was accidently shut by mechanic asisting in getting the skidder started and unstuck smashing operators finger. Employee received a laceration to right ring finger that required stitches to close the wound, and the removel of the nail. Employee returned to work his next scheduled shift. No lost time.
Employee was cutting a water pump discharge hose with a safety razor knife. He was cutting toward himself. The knife slipped and lacerated his left forearm.
Employee was driving a Euclid CH-150 coalhauler in pit 11 F section when he hit a hole in the road jarring his back, road maintenance was ongoing at the time of the incident. On 8/11/08 employee was diagnosed with a herniated disk at L5-S1 in his lower back. Employee is unable to work till further notice.
Employee was walking to the parking area when she slipped on a patch of ice striking the back of her head, cuasing a laceration that required stiches to close. Employee returned to full work duties, no lost time or restricted duties. The area was cleared of snow after a recent storm. Another employee was placing ice melt, but did not see the fall.
Oiler reported pain in right shoulder after changing filters in drill. Was taken to Dr. and no injury was found. A week later continued to complain of pain was taken to ortho and no injury was found. 4 weeks later an mri was done and was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff. Surgery is pending and he continues full duty.
A weld on a tag broke and contractor employee tried to catch the brass washer to keep from falling. The brass washer fell two feet (2 ft.) shearing his left pointer finger between the brass washer and the 3rd initial bore of a 1570 Dragline.
The contractor employee was swinging a hammer with his right hand at the 3rd Intermediate brass bushing. The hammer glanced off the bushing, lacerating the top-side of the employee's fingers on a sharp edge of the brass bushing. The employee was not wearing gloves at the time of the injury.
In order to gain access to the generators to disconnect the wiring EE had to climb through a small opening under the generator. He twisted his body to get under the generators and felt a pulled muscle in his back
While driving an empty coal hauler employee hit a slight dip in the main haul road and felt a slight pinch (burning) in his lower back. After lunch the following day his lower back was bothering him to the point that he could no longer drive truck. EE was transported to local emergency room & treated for a muscle spasm. (Letter from Dr indicates degenerative disease)
After running a 657 scraper for 5.5 hours (plating road) employee finished remainder of the shift driving a coal hauler. At the end of the shift employee told the production superintendent tha t his lower back was hurting. This was the employees last scheduled night shift, as a precaution an appointment was scheduled for the afternoon of the 13th with the company physician.
After removing a lighting pole light fixture, employee was loading the fixture (approx. 40 lbs) into the bed of a pickup truck and felt a slight pop/pull in the back of his right shoulder. Checked out by a physician as a precaution.
After checking the shoe wear clad for proper lubrication employee turned to leave the area ducking under an I-Beam and struck a lifting eye that was welded to the bottom of the house. The impact (buckled) caused the employee to fall backwards full body weight onto his right foot, breaking both bones in his lower right leg.
After blowing out the grid box on a Euclid R-170, employee was attempting to align the right side mirror bracket mounting bolt to the top of the grid box. Employee chose to push (bump) the mirror bracket with his hip, resulting in a lower back muscle spasm. *Final Diagnosis: Occupational Illness due to arthritic changes to his lower back*
Crossing a 12-14 inch high windrow left in the pit floor caused the truck to pitch enough to bottom out the operator's seat. Employee complained of a warm/tingling sensation in his lower back for several minutes, with an MRI revealing a lower back ruptured disk the following day. Speed estimated at 5 mph while crossing the windrow.
Employee suffered a lower back muscle spasm while carrying an 85 lb. return roller to the tail pully area of belt #3, a 60 inch conveyor. It requires climbing 2 flights of stairs to get to the tail pully of belt #3
Employee's position as coal prep oiler - experienced increasing lower back pain over the last couple of months.
Operator was using utility knife and cut his thumb