Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at NICHOLS TILLAGE TOOLS, INC., 312 HEREFORD AVENUE, STERLING, COLORADO 80751
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
During a forging operation, an employee had their left index finger amputated while using a punch press.
An employee was helping move a six-foot, twenty-inch rolling table. One employee lost balance and the table fell over onto the injured employee, resulting in a right lower leg fracture.
Two employees were placing steel on a die press when the machine cycled and one of the employee's hands were crushed by the 4,000-pound press, resulting in crushed thumbs and index fingers.
An employee was sharpening peeler blades when their shirt was caught in the grinding wheel. The employee sustained tendon damage and a crushed right hand.
An employee was preparing to cut lumber on a panel saw when the clamp engaged and caught the employee's left middle finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 333111)
An employee was climbing up a fixed ladder alongside a building to inspect a roof leak. The employee fell off the ladder and landed on the ground about 15 feet below. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to both wrists.
On September 16, 2025, an employee went to pull a weld stand when he tripped and fell, landing on the floor on his right hip. The employee suffered hip and fibula fractures that required hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was accessing a tensioned hook that required a hoist mechanism to be engaged. He was unhooking the lift hook from a shelf column when the "up" button was pressed, which released the tension on the pneumatic air hoist. The employee's right index finger was caught between the hook and the column, resulting in a soft tissue amputation and fracture to the fingertip.
A crane was lifting a pole out of a zinc bath in the galvanizing department when the chain attached to the pole broke. The pole fell back into the bath and liquid zinc splashed onto an employee, who suffered third-degree burns to an arm, the abdomen, the torso, the upper left side of the chest, an ear, the neck, and a hand.
An employee was delivering materials. He was doing his pre-delivery inspection on the roof of the jobsite (a warehouse) when he fell through a plexiglass skylight. He landed on his feet on the concrete floor 14 feet below. The employee sustained fractures to his spine, left ulnar/radius, and right heel. The employee required surgery.
An employee was removing packaging from a roll of printing substrate. The blade of their utility knife got stuck. The employee used both hands to free the knife and the blade partially amputated their left little fingertip.
A concrete batch plant operator was assisting with clearing spoil piles using a skid steer. The skid steer backed into a stationary screen plant. The employee's left little finger was crushed between the controls of the skid steer and the screen plant, resulting in a fracture and laceration. The employee's finger was surgically amputated.
An employee was standing on an extension ladder, using a torquing tool to remove bolts that secured blades to a rotor. When the torquing tool activated, its reaction arm came around and pinched the employee's right middle finger against a lifting eye. His fingertip was amputated.