Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Alpla Inc., 5800 Armour Dr., HOUSTON, TEXAS 77020
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
A team was dismantling a machine for refurbishing in a specific order: extruder, core barrel, base plate, and carriage. The injured employee was holding the carriage as it was being lifted when the whole assembly rolled forward. The employee's right index finger was then caught and amputated between the extruder deck and extruder base.
An employee was cleaning/vacuuming a re-grinder when the employee's left middle finger came into contact with the moving scrapper/paddle and was amputated. The machine was running at the time of the incident.
While cleaning the interior of a regrind tank an employee sustained a right ring finger amputation and a partial middle finger amputation. The rotating valves were not guarded at the time.
An AME palletizing machine had been installed to palletize bottles/stack them on plastic trays. An employee noticed that the machine had trays that were sideways. He opened the gate and entered the machine to straighten the trays. The crane inside the machine activated while he was inside, striking him and crushing him against the side of the machine.
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 326160)
An employee was watching as a technician worked with a machine. The machine's parts were manually moved while the employee's hand was inside the machine, and his fingertip was amputated. The incident took place during a training activity.
On October 14, 2025, an employee was on a step platform showing another employee the support bracket for a blow pin assembly on a blow molding machine that needed repaired. The blow pin assembly came up and pinched the injured employee's right middle finger, resulting in a broken finger and a laceration to the top of the hand.
On August 22, 2025, an employee was helping to move a 700-pound compressor cylinder cap head into position to slide down the bolt holes onto the bottom half of the cylinder. When a bolt hole aligned, his left index fingertip was caught in it. The cap came down and amputated the fingertip.
A maintenance employee was working on a conveyor when his thumb was caught in the chain/sprocket area causing an amputation to the thumb tip. The machine was running at the time of the incident.
On March 20, 2025, at approximately 11:02 AM, an employee was shrink wrapping a pallet when he lost his balance and fell to ground. The employee sustained a hip and leg injury that required hospitalization and surgery.
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.