Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Heatcraft Refrigeration Products LLC , 420 Southwell Boulevard, TIFTON, GEORGIA 31794
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was drilling holes in copper tubing while wearing gloves. As she moved a part into position and began lowering the drill head, her right hand bumped the drill bit, which caught the fabric of the glove and pulled her right hand into the bit. The drill bit deeply lacerated her middle finger and partially amputated her pinky and index fingers.
An employee was doing brazing work on a copper line, part of a commercial refrigeration unit that was charged with propane. A blockage in one of the tubes resulted in a flame blowback. The employee suffered second-degree burns to the left side of the face and neck area. They were hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee entered an interlocking gate to adjust a part when the gate malfunctioned and the brake press crushed his right arm up to the elbow. The employee was hospitalized and underwent surgery on his arm with multiple fractures. Later the employee underwent another surgery where his arm was amputated below the elbow due to complications.
An employee was sharpening peeler blades when their shirt was caught in the grinding wheel. The employee sustained tendon damage and a crushed right hand.
An employee was preparing to cut lumber on a panel saw when the clamp engaged and caught the employee's left middle finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 333415)
An employee was helping to move a 1,300-pound coil on a cart. The steel caster hit a crack in the concrete, the weld holding the caster onto the cart broke, and the coil and cart tipped over onto the employee. He was hospitalized with a laceration on his forehead and a pelvic fracture on his right side.
An employee was observing expansion rods on a coil expander going into a coil to ensure copper stubs weren't being bent. His left hand was caught between the locking block and locking block clamp on the power press machine, resulting in partial amputation of his left little finger from the distal interphalangeal joint.
An employee was setting up a press brake and rolling over a die when the tip of their left little finger was caught between the horizontal working surface of the press brake and die. The employee sustained partial amputation of their fingertip.
An employee was working to remove an access panel to begin performing maintenance on a machine. The set pins on the bottom of the panel were broken. The bottom kicked out and fell, striking the employee's left foot and resulting in a fracture to the big toe.
An employee was helping to lift the grating from a floor draining system when the grating slipped and landed on his hand, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger at the first joint.
During a workshop meeting in a hotel, an employee heard a drilling noise, so he walked outside to see what it was. An explosion occurred (possible gas line) and his face, ear, and hair were burned. He also fell and sustained a pelvic fracture.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.