Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Signicast, LLC, 1800 Innovation Way, HARTFORD, WISCONSIN 53027
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was using a hoist to transfer a heat treat basket which was approximately 3 ft. by 4 ft. long from a staging rack to a conveyor. The basket was loaded with castings that go into the heat treat operation. The employee detached the hoist and noticed the basket wasn't sitting flat on the cart. As she manipulated the basket her right middle finger was pinched between the basket and the conveyor resulting in a partial amputation of the fingertip with loss of fingernail and subsequent revision of the tip of the finger. Stitches were used to close the wound. No surgery was required.
An employee was using a grinding machine with a foot pedal. She was loading a part into the grinder when her right hand got caught in the grinder. She then used her left hand to pull out her right hand. The employee suffered a laceration to the back of two fingers on her left hand and her left forearm, as well as partial amputations to two fingers on her right hand.
An employee was putting metal in a pot to melt. The top of the metal started to solidify; the employee was using a rebar to poke a hole in the top to mix the metal when some of the metal splashed onto coils outside the pot. This caused steam to build up and pressurize the metal, which expanded and flew out of the pot. The employee fell while trying to escape the splash, landing on metal that had hit the floor. The employee suffered second-degree burns to the hands, left knee, and stomach.
An employee was operating a forklift and unloading a truck. After the truck was unloaded, the employee got off the forklift and proceeded to adjust the dock plate with a hook tool. The dock plate slipped and the employee went to adjust the plate with their hand when their left middle finger got caught. Their finger was amputated above the first joint.
An employee was rotating a carbide granulator blade when his finger was caught between the blade and a stationary part of the machine. The employee's right middle finger was partially amputated and they suffered an avulsion to the right ring fingertip.
An employee was using a CNC metal lathe machine in manual mode to check that the thread blocking tool made contact with the jaws. As the employee was manually spinning the spindle, his index fingertip was crushed between the spindle's jaws and the grooving insert, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
During a material handling operation, an employee's fingertip was caught under an air conditioning unit as the unit was lowered onto a cart. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
An employee was removing a bolt from a tractor hub when their right index finger was caught between the hub and the frame. The employee's fingertip was crushed and the employee was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 331512)
An employee was using a grinding machine with a foot pedal. She was loading a part into the grinder when her right hand got caught in the grinder. She then used her left hand to pull out her right hand. The employee suffered a laceration to the back of two fingers on her left hand and her left forearm, as well as partial amputations to two fingers on her right hand.
An employee was looking into a furnace to check for parts. When the furnace closed, the employee's right little finger was caught by a piece of metal, resulting in a partial amputation.
A forklift was loading bundles of pipe onto a trailer. One of the bundles weighing approximately 1,200 pounds dislodged and fell off the trailer, striking two employees that were standing on the back side of the trailer. Both employees were injured. One employee was struck in the legs, sustaining fractures in both legs. His left leg had to be amputated above the knee on 5/2/2025. The second employee sustained multiple injuries including a broken pelvis and kidney damage.
An employee was putting a metal part into a CNC lathe when the part fell on their right fingers. The employee sustained a fracture and laceration to their middle finger, and an amputation of their ring finger.
An employee was dislodging a part that was stuck in the shot blasting machine when the part released and shifted, catching the employee's left middle finger between the part and the belt of the machine. The employee pulled his hand away and sustained a fingertip amputation.
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.
An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.