Caught between rolling powered vehicle and other object · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Presque Isle Wine Cellars, Inc., 9440 West Main Street, NORTH EAST, PENNSYLVANIA 16428
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
Two employees placed an electric pallet jack onto the back of a delivery truck. One employee got into the back of the truck and was operating the electric pallet jack; the injured employee was standing outside of the truck. The electric pallet jack was locked in place, and the employee in the back of the truck was moving materials around manually. The electric pallet jack started rolling toward the back end of the truck. The injured employee went to grab it to prevent it from falling out of the truck. The injured employee's right pinky finger was then caught between the rolling electric pallet jack and the side of the truck. He suffered a right pinky fingertip amputation.
On December 13, 2023, an employee was operating a forklift. When they stepped off the forklift, it crushed their left foot between the lift and a racking system. The employee suffered a foot fracture that required hospitalization.
An employee was maneuvering a motorized pallet jack while standing in front of it. He became pinned between the pallet jack and a steel rack cross-beam, resulting in a contusion to his chest/back and a fractured rib.
An employee was stacking empty drums into a trailer. The employee then exited the trailer, using the forks of a forklift as a step. The forklift's parking brake failed, causing the forklift to move forward and pin the employee's right leg between the forklift and the trailer. The employee's right lower leg was crushed, resulting in a fracture and a laceration.
An employee had been spraying weeds behind a school. As he was leaving the field, the employee drove his truck up to the gate, got out, and opened the gate. The truck rolled forward and pinned him against the fence/gate. The gate then gave way and opened from the force of the truck. The employee's left index fingertip got caught in the fence/gate and was amputated.
An employee was using a walk-behind tugger to pull a grinder. The employee's left little finger was pinched between the handle of the tugger and the framework of a staircase. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 312130)
An employee was preparing to unload wine barrels from a shipping container that had been loaded onto a semi-trailer for delivery. His left index finger was caught between the container and a loading ramp, and was amputated just above the middle joint.
An employee was moving a barbeque grill. The lid fell while in transport and pinched their right thumb against the grill frame causing a fracture and laceration. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.