Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Veolia North America, Wastewater Treatment Lift station #8, HARAHAN, LOUISIANA 70123
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was removing a motor from the top of a pump inside a wastewater lift station. A come-along was turning the motor to free it from its housing on the pump when the employee's left hand was caught between the motor's bottom edge and housing on top of the pump, amputating the left ring fingertip and lacerating the little finger.
An employee was working in a wastewater facility, cleaning a metal screen. He positioned it against a railing on top of a metal grating, which was above a headworks bypass channel. When he stepped onto a trapezoid-shaped section of grating, it slid forward and tipped into the channel. The employee fell about 5 feet into the channel, which contained about 1 foot of stagnant wastewater. He suffered a rotator cuff and ligament tear in his left shoulder, a contusion on the left side of his back, a broken left-side rib, and a tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
An employee was packing a cleaning solution containing sodium hydroxide. The solution spilled onto the employee's right ankle, causing a chemical burn to the ankle.
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 811310)
An employee was operating an ironworker (steel punching/shearing) machine. A piece of the tooling broke off and struck the employee's neck; a fragment was lodged in his neck. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was climbing a ladder to inspect a vent in a restaurant dining area. The ladder slid out on the floor and the employee fell approximately 12 feet onto the ladder and the floor. He was hospitalized with a dislocated shoulder and a back injury.
An employee was operating a lift truck when it struck a stationary lift truck. His left thumb was pinched between the two lift trucks, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was disassembling a pressurized unit using a driver drill. When the unit was disassembled, it caused a kickback from the tube head, causing the drill to strike the employee's left forearm. They sustained a diaphyseal fracture to their left radius and ulna, which required surgery.
After repairing a piece of industrial equipment, an employee had brake-cleaning liquid on his gloves. A lighter ignited the liquid, and the employee's hands were severely burned.
A driver was exiting his vehicle outside the plant gate when his foot slipped on the top step of the truck. He fell to the ground, landed on his left hip and elbow. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured hip/femur.
A security employee was responding to an urgent call from staff regarding a violent patient. The employee tripped and fell on the floor outside of the stairwell. The employee sustained a closed head injury, contusion of the cerebrum without loss of consciousness, and a closed fracture of the distal end of the right radius.
A temporary employee was testing an electrical starter motor. He was placing tape on the starter while the breaker was not engaged, but the starter sent an arc flash that burned his hands and stomach.
An employee was walking on a sidewalk and stubbed his toe on an elevated portion of concrete, causing him to trip and fall. The employee's right knee was dislocated.