Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Sappi North America, 1329 Waterville Rd, SKOWHEGAN, MAINE 04976
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was using a winding machine when his right middle finger was pinched and partially amputated between the machine's carriage and roller.
An employee was moving six 500-pound bundles of dry pulp fiber with a forklift that has a clamp attachment. A portion of the top bundle/bale broke free and struck the employee's arm, resulting in compartment syndrome. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
The injured employee was training another employee, watching the second employee conduct a pump swap. The expansion joint fitting failed during the swap and caustic lime solution sprayed about 10-15 feet, hitting the injured employee. The employee suffered chemical burns to the leg, torso, and left eye and was hospitalized.
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 322110)
An employee was loading black liquor into a tanker truck using a swivel arm. The arm caught and pinched his right middle finger as it moved, resulting in a partial amputation to the first knuckle.
An employee was visually inspecting the drive line for a conveyor. There was an explosion in the conveyor, and the employee suffered second- and third-degree burns to both forearms.
An employee was driving forklift with a load when the forklift hit a guardrail and the employee fell to the ground, resulting in a broken elbow, broken shoulder, and lacerations.
An employee was putting a chain back on a sprocket. The gearbox and sprocket contained two drive chains connected to the lowerator (vertical conveyor) and counterweight assembly. The employee received an alarm indicating that one of the chains had gone slack. While the employee was putting the chain back on the drive sprocket with tongue and groove pliers, the weight of the chain and counterweight fell back in place on the sprocket, pulling the employee's left hand into a pinch point. The employee's ring fingertip was amputated up to the fingernail.
A crew was installing drilled micropiles alongside an outdoor covered deck foundation. The injured employee was working the front of the drill when a loose section of casing dropped onto the tip of a rig wrench and pulled the wrench down to an embedded casing. The employee's left little finger was caught between the rig wrench and the embedded casing and was amputated above the top knuckle.
Two employees were working to change a tire on a mobile slasher saw. The slasher weighs around 2,000 pounds and is towed. Employee 2 was lifting the saw while the injured employee was placing a block of wood under the frame for support. The slasher then lowered onto the block and the injured employee's left thumb was crushed between the slasher frame and the wood block, leading to an amputation at the first knuckle.
An employee was using a crane to move a 44-foot, 3,343-pound I-beam. As the beam was moving west, it straightened out (north to south), beginning to swing south toward the northwest corner of a building. The crane then sent the beam southward, directly toward the corner of the building. The beam caught the tips of the employee's left index, middle, and ring fingers against the building. The last joints of the middle and ring fingers were amputated, and the last joint of the index finger was partially crushed.
An employee was standing on a step stool, removing the nuts and bolts from the frame of a solar panel that was being replaced. The employee's cheek made contact with a connector with damaged insulation. The employee was shocked, briefly lost consciousness, and fell to the ground, suffering an injury to the left shoulder.