Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Kolberg Pioneer, 700 West 21st Street, YANKTON, SOUTH DAKOTA 57078
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee's hands were pinched between two pieces of machinery while assembling equipment, resulting in a finger amputation.
AmputationFinger(s), fingernail(s), unspecifiedCompactors, crushers, pulverizers-earth, mineral
An employee was using a forklift to move a rolling cart with a spiral weldment. As he was pushing the spiral and cart, the forklift entered an inclined area. The front of the cart and the spiral started drifting/rolling down the incline. He put the forklift in reverse and backed up to get in front of the spiral and cart as it was rolling and then reached out with his right hand to deflect the cart's direction of travel. His right finger middle finger was then caught and crushed between the spiral and the roll cage of the forklift.
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 333131)
An employee was standing at the rear of a machine and the machine's mesh tray fell down onto the rear of the machine, crushing his left hand against the read lift. The employee sustained fractures and a laceration to their left hand and was hospitalized.
The injured employee was assisting with tightening down 3/4" hardware during assembly of a 6'x20' triple deck screen. Another employee was using a 1/2" cordless impact wrench to tighten down the hardware. The injured employee was using a 1-1/8" open-end wrench that slipped when the bolt was being tighten down by the impact wrench. The injured employee's right ring fingertip was caught between the open-end wrench and the side sheet of the triple deck screen. The tuft of the distal phalanx was amputated.
An employee was welding baffle plates onto a 55-gallon hydraulic tank. A flash occurred as they began to tack weld a part. The employee suffered burns to most of their face and second-degree burns on each arm, resulting in hospitalization.
On July 22, 2024, an employee was using a pressure washer to fill a mop bucket with water. The washer's hose split and soapy water was injected into the employee's right palm and index finger. The puncture wound had to be surgically cleaned.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.