Cooper Tire & Rubber Company

An employee was pushing an empty metal skid onto a skid conveyor. His right index finger was pinched between the skid and the skid holder, and the fingertip was amputated.

An employee was working underneath a creel calender machine, using a tool to straighten/comb wires as they enter the creel. The employee's tool contacted a pressure roller and was pulled into a pinch point along with the employee's right hand resulting in amputations to the right thumb tip, and two other fingertips.

An employee was driving a tugger, connected to a full tread cart, down an aisle. The front right corner of the cart contacted the blunt end of a guardrail. The tugger turned sharply and stopped, causing the employee to fall off and strike his face on the guardrail. He suffered fractures to the cheek and around the eye.

An employee reached to grab rubber in a conveyor belt and their arm was caught in the belt, resulting in a fractured forearm and a right index finger injury.

An employee was removing a piece of rubber from a transfer belt when the employee's right arm was caught in the conveyor, fracturing the right forearm.

Employees were assembling and testing a butterfly valve unit and actuator combo. When the unit was function tested with air, the valve gate closed on an employee's left thumb resulting in a fracture and laceration.

An employee was doing a daily inspection of the sifter screen on a mixer when the mixer line activated. The armature for the screen struck the employee's right wrist. Their wrist was cut and their hand was fractured.

An employee was being trained on a machine when a roller came down on their hand, resulting in a fracture and laceration.

An employee was doing a dry run during the setup of an ice cream machine. The machine indexed and the filler head amputated the employee's left middle finger above the last knuckle.

An employee was on a 3-foot ladder guiding cable onto a spool during installation on an overhead door. As the control box was jogged, the employee's hand was caught between the cable and spool, resulting in a wrist and hand fracture.

On October 25, 2025, an employee was stringing up a new reel of tire tread on a machine. The employee pulled a 6-inch tail and proceeded to spool up the liner. As the machine was jogged to begin the liner wrapping process, the liner caught the employee's glove and pulled their right arm into the liner, causing a fracture to the arm.

An employee was adjusting a pallet on a conveyor when it came off the conveyor and struck his right ankle, breaking the tibia and fibula. The employee was hospitalized.

At 2:45 p.m., an employee was outside the plant during a break before his next shift. He was speaking with an associate when he suddenly fell from the third-level steps to the ground, striking his head on the concrete. The employee was hospitalized due to internal brain bleeding, a wound to the back of his head requiring staples, and heat-related dehydration.

Two employees were replacing a motor on an overhead conveyor. The old motor fell to the floor, causing a piece of the concrete floor to fly up and strike the injured employee in the face, around the eye. The injured employee sustained a right orbital fracture, a zygomatic arch fracture, and a sphenoid fracture. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

An employee was changing the bladder on a hydraulic press. As he lowered the bladder, his left foot was pinned between its bottom ring and the bottom mold of the press. The second toe on the foot was amputated.

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.

On October 25, 2025, an employee was stringing up a new reel of tire tread on a machine. The employee pulled a 6-inch tail and proceeded to spool up the liner. As the machine was jogged to begin the liner wrapping process, the liner caught the employee's glove and pulled their right arm into the liner, causing a fracture to the arm.

An employee was doing a cable change on top of an electric overhead traveling (EOT) crane. They were positioned between the cable drum and the drive shaft. While rotating the cable drum, the employee reached for the new cable that was to be installed. The grease fitting on the drive shaft caught their fall harness and pulled them underneath the drive shaft. The employee was pinned between the drive shaft and two pieces of angle steel, resulting in a fracture to their left hip.

An employee was helping two other employees to push a pallet of tile on a loading dock. He suffered a broken fibula and was hospitalized.

On October 5, 2025, an employee was pulling a pressure washer hose when it it disconnected from the cooker. The employee was struck by jets of high-pressure water, resulting in lacerations to their left thigh requiring surgery. The employee was hospitalized.