Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Waste Management of Delaware, 32 Buena Vista Drive, NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE 19720
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee had just emptied a dumpster with a front-load dump truck and was trying to make sure the dumpster went all the way back into its metal housing enclosure. While his left hand was on the top edge of the dumpster, his left thumb became pinched between the metal housing and the dumpster underneath it. About a quarter-inch of his thumb tip and part of his fingernail was amputated.
AmputationFingertip(s)Tanks, bins, vats-nonconfined space
More severe injuries at Waste Management of Delaware
An employee was servicing a dumpster and placing it into its metal compactor housing. The dumpster did not make contact with the interlock switch. When the employee attempted to reposition the dumpster, the dumpster shifted and pinched his left thumb. He attempted to remove his left hand, and his thumb tip was amputated.
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 562219)
An employee was driving an ATV when it overturned and rolled onto its side. The employee sustained a fractured elbow requiring hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was elevating an auger when the auger shifted. He went to stop the auger from shifting when it struck him, resulting in injuries to his left ankle and pelvic bone.
An employee was training to use an industrial shredding machine. While he was dumping a box, the pulley on a conveyor caught the tongue of his right shoe and pulled his third toe into a pinch point between the conveyor belt and the pulley drive. The employee sustained an amputation to their toe.
An employee was pushing a baler door that weighed about 500 pounds closed. A pair of wire cutters fell between the door and the baler wall. The employee was retrieving the wire cutters when the door closed, crushing the employee's right index finger against the baler wall and causing a partial amputation to the finger.
A flagger was directing traffic flow in a highway work zone. They were standing approximately 1.5 feet behind the shoulder's demarcating line, next to and slightly behind a traffic drum. As they were directing traffic into and out of the driveway of a parking lot, a car attempted to get around a truck and struck the traffic drum, which subsequently struck the employee, who was thrown 15 feet and landed on top of concrete aggregate. The employee suffered pelvic and rib fractures, T10 and L3 vertebra fractures, and internal bleeding.
An employee was troubleshooting a power washer in the field. Because there might have been water in its fuel, he brought it back to the shop and drained about a gallon of fuel from the tank into a plastic container. Some of the fuel spilled onto the floor and ignited. The employee was stomping out the fire when he lost his balance and tripped into a stool, which caused the plastic container to spill more fuel onto the fire. The employee's pants and shirt caught on fire, and he fell, abrading his knee while trying to get through the flames. As well as the knee abrasion, he suffered burns to the left leg and left lower quadrant of the torso. He was hospitalized.
An employee was backing up a tram (towing powered industrial equipment) to connect it to a trash bin. The employee's left forearm/wrist was caught and crushed between the tram and the bin. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee went to lift a carton and tripped on a different carton that was on the floor. She fell on the floor in the backroom and sustained a fractured right hip, and abrasions to her arm and knee. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.