Caught in running equipment or machinery, unspecified · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at 3M, 601 22nd Avenue South, BROOKINGS, SOUTH DAKOTA 57006
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was removing unwanted film material from a machine when he flipped a small piece of the material with his finger. His right index finger was then caught in the belt and pulley, resulting in a fingertip amputation. The belt and pulley were unguarded at the time.
An employee was preparing to remove a 900-pound roll from an extrusion machine. The roll fell off and the employee sustained an arm fracture that required hospitalization.
An employee was making an adjustment to an extruder. The employee's gloved left hand was caught in a roll-to-roll nip point causing fractures to the ring and little fingers. The employee underwent a medical amputation to the little fingertip.
An employee was trying to manually unjam a component within a machine. An abrupt rotation within the machine caused the employee's left middle fingertip to be crushed between two metal machine parts. The fingertip was amputated.
An employee was unloading new equipment from a pallet skid. The employee was removing the strapping from a panel when it became dislodged from the transportation skid and began to tip. The employee attempted to balance the paneling but succumbed to the size. The panel continued to tip and caught the employee's finger between the panel and the parked forklift's mast, resulting in a partial amputation to the right ring finger from the nail bed to the tip.
An employee had just finished maintenance work on an HVAC system. He was closing the guard cover when it slipped, smashed his left hand (bruising two fingers), and severed the tip of the ring finger.
On December 19, 2023, an employee was setting up a copper wire drawing machine when his left ring finger was pinched between a copper wire and a machine part. The employee's finger was partially amputated.
An employee was checking the gusset seal on a machine. He moved to the next cross sealer and the machine activated, causing an amputation to a left-hand finger. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was evaluating a coiling machine to verify that the blade was present inside it. The machine's weld function was activated, and the machine crushed the employee's fingers, resulting in the amputation of the left middle and ring fingers.
An employee was running a can coder that runs on a conveyor belt. The employee was stepping over the rollers when she slipped or tripped. She fell to the floor and sustained a fractured right ankle, requiring surgery.
On August 25, 2025, at approximately 4:47 p.m., an employee was manually raising a malfunctioning loading dock door when his right middle finger was caught in a pinch point, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was replacing the heating element on a small steam sterilizer when they were burned by hot water and steam on their arms, chest, abdomen, and thighs.
A STERIS installer had uncrated a drying cabinet and was working with a STERIS installation specialist to tilt the cabinet up. As the unit was being tilted up, it slid forward, causing both employees to lose balance. The drying cabinet fell on the installer s right middle finger, resulting in an open fracture and amputation of the distal fingertip.
An employee was operating an automated bagging and packaging machine to bag hydrocolloids. A bag was stuck in the machine. As the employee was removing it, the blade amputated the top of their right index finger.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.