Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Sellars Absorbent Materials, Inc., 6565 N. 60th St., MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN 53223
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
A temporary employee was cleaning a converting machine when he attempted to remove a piece of material from the pulley and belts. His right little finger then became caught between a belt and pulley, resulting in an amputation.
HospitalizedAmputationFinger(s), fingernail(s), unspecifiedPaper production machinery, n.e.c.
More severe injuries at Sellars Absorbent Materials, Inc.
The injured employee was feeding paper into a machine with their right hand while standing on the base. The wheel to advance the paper was manually turned and the injured employee's right ring finger was pulled into the rollers. The tip of his right ring finger was pinched and amputated.
An employee was feeding paper through various rollers on a paper converting machine when his left index fingertip was caught and amputated in an ingoing roller nip.
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 322291)
An employee was clearing a material jam on a line, at a point where it formed the cores of diapers. When he removed the material, his left little finger was caught between the belts of a forming drum. His hand was lacerated and the finger was broken. He was hospitalized, requiring surgery. The machine was guarded at the time of the incident.
On April 9, 2025, an employee was cleaning anilox rollers in a machine with a rag. The machine caught the rag and then the employee's left hand, resulting in amputation of the middle finger.
An employee was jogging two rollers to clear a paper jam when his left hand was pulled into the rollers, resulting in amputations of the index, middle, and ring fingers down to the knuckle.
On July 27, 2024, at 2:45 AM, an employee was walking down an aisle in the converting department when he tripped and fell on the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured left hip.
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.
An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.