Struck by rolling object or equipment-other than powered vehicle, n.e.c. · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Burgmeier's Hauling, Inc., Union St., SOMERSET, PENNSYLVANIA 15501
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
Employee was attempting to dislodge a dumpster that was frozen to the ground. When the dumpster broke free, it rolled and pinched the employee's left pinky between the dumpster and a parked truck.
An employee was hooking a dumpster onto the lift devices located on their garbage truck when their left hand got caught between the dumpster and the truck, resulting in crush injuries and a thumb amputation.
An employee was pushing carts into the chute area for customers to retrieve. The first of six carts struck the wall and caused the other carts to bounce back and strike the employee. The carts knocked the employee to the ground and she sustained a back injury.
An employee was loading a portable storage container onto a dovetail trailer. This requires hooking up a bridle to the container and lifting the container enough for the dovetail to begin to slide under it. The employee reached and held the bridle lock to allow the trailer to move under it when the trailer moved backward instead of forward and caught his finger. The employee's right middle finger was amputated between the fingernail and the first knuckle.
An employee was reaching over a small stack of steel billets on the ground to cut a strap. When the strap was cut, one of the billets (weighing 5,182 pounds) rolled down onto his right leg. He was pinned and suffered a broken tibia. The incident occurred while the employee was training.
On June 7, 2023, employees were unloading a box truck and rolling a reel of 2-inch plastic pipe to the back of the truck. As the employees were rolling the reel, the edge of the steel frame of the reel contacted the side of the truck. The injured employee s right little finger was caught between the reel and the truck, resulting in a laceration and fracture as well as a little finger amputation.
Employees were using a dolly to remove a trash compactor unit from a residential home. As they began to transport it out of the room and to the outside, the dolly encountered uneven ground. This caused the dolly and the unit to move quicker than expected. The injured employee's left hand was then caught between a nearby concrete column and the compactor unit, resulting in fractures of the left ring and middle fingers that required amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 562212)
A driver had backed up a rear load truck to a dumpster. The winch cable was bound, and another employee went to use the controls to put slack in the line. The cable tightened instead of loosening while the driver was holding it, and it caught his hand against the truck and crushed his thumb. The thumb was fractured and lacerated; he was hospitalized, requiring surgery. The incident took place during a training activity.
An employee was pulling into a customer's parking lot to pick up a roll-off container when the vehicle ran over the median curb. The vehicle then veered to the left, striking the side curb and the retaining wall. The employee sustained injuries to his neck and spine, as well as a damaged artery, a head laceration, and fractured ribs.
An employee was replacing the bracing arm of a baler. The replacement part (weighing an estimated 500 pounds) was moved into place using a truck-mounted crane with a lifting strap attached to the designated pick point. The employee then used his right hand to stabilize/align the part. The part shifted, crushing his right index finger against the mounting pin hole. The employee's finger was amputated above the first knuckle.
An employee was moving a mower with a tractor bucket when the bucket slipped and struck another employee on the hand. The injured employee sustained a partial amputation of their left little finger.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.