Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Admiral Linen Service, Inc., 3520 Center St., HOUSTON, TEXAS 77007
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
On October 6, 2015, at approximately 3:30 PM, an employee was helping a coworker roll a full linen rack into his truck. The employee was pushing the rack while the coworker was pulling, and the linen rack began to sway to the right. The employee reached over the right side of the rack and attempted to control it with his left hand. He was not able to stop the rack from swaying to the right. His left hand was on the outside right of the rack, and his right hand was placed on the middle bars of the rack. His left-hand finger got caught between the linen rack and a stationary rack that was to his right, amputating the left middle fingertip.
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 812331)
An employee was working to dilute and refill a spray bottle of antibacterial all-purpose cleaner. Some of the corrosive chemical spilled on the employee's shirt that was already wet from water. The employee sustained a bacterial infection and chemical burn to their abdominal area, requiring hospitalization.
An employee was at a customer location making a pickup and delivery of hospital linen. The employee was using the freight elevator to bring a hamper up from the basement to the ground level outside. This elevator has two metal doors that open from the ground to allow the elevator to raise. The employee was on the ground level outside and looking down at the elevator doors as the elevator was on its way up, when the doors jammed together. The employee was freeing the doors with his right hand and the elevator doors closed, causing an amputation to his right middle fingertip.
An employee was throwing blankets onto a blanket folding and stacking machine. A blanket got stuck in the machine and she attempted to remove it when the machine contacted her right little finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.