Caught in running equipment or machinery, n.e.c. · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at National Oilwell Varco, 10303 Sheldon, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77049
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was testing a prototype hydro-pad cylinder in a confined area at the maintenance shop. As the employee was putting a spacer (cone) into the cylinder, it twisted very fast via air power. When he went to stop it, his left index finger became wedged between the cone and the pipe. His left index finger was amputated above the knuckle and required surgery.
HospitalizedAmputationFinger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c.Oil drilling rigs and machinery
Three employees were assembling a mast for a mobile rig derrick. Each of the two sections are approximately 60 feet long. The lower mast was positioned on stands. The upper mast was supported by an overhead crane. The injured employee was standing at the base on the lower mast behind the winch skid. He was using a crane and a winch that is mounted on a forklift skid to slide the top mast into the lower mast. The upper section of the mast became misaligned and the force from the crane and winch operations caused the mast to shift 4 feet. This caused the winch skid to shift 4 feet back as well, pinning the employee's left foot between the base of the winch and the base of the forklift mast. The employee sustained two fractures in his foot.
An employee was relocating rigging and the rigging chains did not clear a piston puller. The piston puller was caught in the rigging and pulled over. It tipped over and landed on his left ankle, fracturing it. The employee was hospitalized for surgery.
On January 22, 2024, an employee was leaving the building through the front door. When the employee stepped on the outside door mat, he fell, sustaining fractures to his right hip and femur.
An employee had just completed grinding on a 1,300-pound rotor using a pneumatic grinder. They were attempting to manually push the rotor on a cart out of the workstation when the retractable air hose created an obstruction under the wheel of the cart. The employee went to push the cart over the obstruction when the cart and rotor became unstable, tipping over and striking the employee on the left foot. They sustained multiple foot fractures that required hospitalization and surgery.
Employees were assembling and testing a butterfly valve unit and actuator combo. When the unit was function tested with air, the valve gate closed on an employee's left thumb resulting in a fracture and laceration.
An employee was doing a daily inspection of the sifter screen on a mixer when the mixer line activated. The armature for the screen struck the employee's right wrist. Their wrist was cut and their hand was fractured.
An employee was doing a dry run during the setup of an ice cream machine. The machine indexed and the filler head amputated the employee's left middle finger above the last knuckle.
An employee was on a 3-foot ladder guiding cable onto a spool during installation on an overhead door. As the control box was jogged, the employee's hand was caught between the cable and spool, resulting in a wrist and hand fracture.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 333132)
Employees were replacing a 24" pig trap door. A strap was shackled on the pig trap door and connected to a forklift. Welders began to cut the door off. An employee was holding onto the door when the cut was finished. The door shifted and caught his fingers, resulting in a hand injury and amputation.
An employee was fitting an arbor fixture into a rotor housing to be reworked. The rotor is moved by a hoist. The arbor was being lowered into the rotor housing when the arbor slipped down onto his hand and amputated a portion of his left thumb.
A crew was tripping out of the hole with an electrical submersible pump (ESP) in the process of swapping tubing tong heads to break down the ESP. An employee's left arm was caught and pinched by the tubing tongs. The employee sustained three lacerations and a fracture to the arm.
On May 21, 2025, at approximately 3:40 PM, a machinist was preparing a CNC lathe machine for it's next run. He was closing the machine door to complete the tooling setup when the door crushed his right middle finger. The employee required a surgical amputation to his fingertip.
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.