Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Plastipak Packaging, Inc, 4101 Perdue Road, PINEVILLE, LOUISIANA 71360
on — Amputations, affecting the arm(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was performing maintenance on a rotary wheel machine and attempting to make an adjustment when the employee's right arm became caught in the machine. The employee's arm had to be surgically amputated.
On July 31, 2024, two employees were working to raise a base mold into its position on a blow molding machine. The injured employee lifted up on the base mold with his right hand and was holding the support when a second employee used a metal bar to lift the base into its fully-raised position. The injured employee's fingers were caught between the base support and the mold-holding unit resulting in the amputation of their right ring fingertip.
An employee was troubleshooting a loose chain on a conveyor belt when their left index finger was pulled into a sprocket and the fingertip was amputated.
On September 8, 2022, an employee was installing the top rail on a guardrail system. The employee's right index finger was pinched between the guardrail and a post, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
On June 14, 2022, an employee was adjusting the height of the work table on the box strapper. The employee loosened the bolts on the carriage and had their left hand resting in the area beneath the unit. The table dropped, resulting in distal tip amputations to their middle and ring fingers.
An employee was doing maintenance work in a tunnel under a production line. The employee fell approximately 9 feet through an open manhole, landed on the concrete level below, and suffered neck and back injuries.
Two employees were repairing the hydraulic engagement pins on a rented front-end wheel loader. The machine controls were activated to move the attachment pins and an employee's finger was caught between the pins and the bushings. Their right index finger was partially amputated.
An employee was cleaning the conveyor on a piece of equipment when they slipped and their right hand was pulled into the chain sprocket. The employee's fifth fingertip was amputated.
An employee was throwing blankets onto a blanket folding and stacking machine. A blanket got stuck in the machine and she attempted to remove it when the machine contacted her right little finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
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.
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.