Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at ArcelorMittal Weirton, LLC, 100 Pennsylvania Avenue, WEIRTON, WEST VIRGINIA 26062
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was standing near a base cover while it was being lowered by crane. The employee noticed damage on the cover and started to spin it to access the part that needed repairs. The crane operator was not aware of the employee and continued to lower the cover. The employee's fingers were caught between the cover and the crane, amputating the left fourth finger mid-nailbed and the third fingertip.
An employee was using a piece of I-beam to pound out a piece of scrap metal from a mandrel when his hand got caught between the I-beam and the scrap metal, leading to a cut and a smashed hand.
An employee was using a 60-foot long pole to knock a piece of steel scrap loose from the heating section of a continuous annealer after a strip break when a refractory brick came loose and fell, striking the employee's hard hat and causing a concussion. A second employee sustained a head contusion when the fragmented refractory brick bounced off the first employee's hard hat and struck him in the head. The first employee was hospitalized.
An employee was searching for scrap debris behind tailing rolls. The employee was descending a step at the tension reel area towards the coil car when his heel slipped, causing him to fall into the coil car, striking his rib cage. He sustained three broken ribs and a contusion on the side.
An employee was performing preventative maintenance on a loop car while standing on grating. As he was checking the wheels of the loop car, the grating gave way and he fell through the opening to the next level below, injuring his ankle. He was hospitalized.
An employee fell 37 inches off a fixed ladder when the last rung shifted and landed on the grating below. The employee suffered fractured ribs and a collapsed lung.
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 331111)
An employee used a crane to set down a bar. The bar measured 9 inches by 16 feet. The strap got stuck under the bar, and the employee asked another employee to jog the roll. The bar rolled and pinched the injured employee's left hand, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was loading a steel forming machine with steel to be processed. He went to move a cooling hose out of the way and his left thumb was crushed by the forming roller, resulting in injuries that required surgical amputation.
An employee was advancing a rail to line up for welding with a secondary rail on the weld line when his right middle and ring fingers were caught between the rails. The employee sustained an amputation to the top knuckle of the middle finger and a fracture to the ring finger. The machine was guarded at the time.
An employee was preparing bundles of 24-foot square metal tubing to be loaded onto a truck and cut the safety band for a bundle. While the employee was removing a piece of dunnage from a bundle, they bumped the bundle with their leg. The metal tubing then fell forward and struck the employee, causing a fractured left ankle.
An employee was conducting routine maintenance on a mixer. New lid pins had been installed, and the employee was rotating by hand to ensure they had been installed correctly. The employee's left middle finger was caught between the lid and top of a pin. The momentum from the mixer continued, causing a crushing injury to the finger. The employee underwent a medical amputation from the top knuckle to the tip of the finger.
An employee was climbing down a 15-foot multipurpose ladder. The employee fell about 8 feet, landing on the concrete floor and the ladder itself. The employee suffered several injuries, all on the right side: broken ribs, a broken sternum, a broken temporal bone, broken shoulder, multiple fractures to the cheekbone, and a brain bleed.
An employee was rolling up the landing gear on his trailer when the handle began to unwind and struck his face, fracturing his jaw. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.