AMERICAN EXCELSIOR COMPANY

On August 8, 2024, an employee was using a pad machine to produce "highway rolls" (16-foot-wide wood blanket). He was trying to adjust a blanket that was not feeding into the machine's baler when the netting of the blanket caught his right hand. His right arm was pulled into the baler and was broken and lacerated. He was hospitalized. Machine guarding was found to be insufficient.

A temporary employee attempted to retriever a push stick from inside a baler when the baler cycled and partially amputated a finger.

On April 24, 2018, an employee was attempting to unjam a blanket machine when another employee operated the machine, which then lowered a metal bar on the first employee's arm. The employee's arm was crushed.

An employee was changing the blades on a machine and using a knee switch to hold open the pocket where the blades were located. The employee's knee slipped off the switch, allowing the blades to amputated the employee's right ring fingertip.

An employee was tossing a damaged toilet into a compactor. The toilet bounced off the compactor and lacerated the employee's right wrist, cutting an artery and tendon.

An employee was operating a hydraulic jack to bend a frame when the jack came loose and struck the employee. They were hospitalized for a spleen injury.

A truck had been towed into the shop with a flat tire and a blown airbag. An employee checked the tire for damage and was airing the tire. The employee was installing the valve core when the bead slipped off the rim. Air escaped, and the aluminum wheel struck the employee's head and face. The employee became unresponsive and was bleeding.

On December 14, 2023, at 8:40 p.m., three employees were inspecting milling machines for startup. A few of the sleeves on the mill drum needed to be changed out. The injured employee was trying to input a sleeve on the mill drum using a hammer. The hammer hit the edge of the drum, which caused a metal piece to splinter off and strike the employee's cheek just below the left eye. The metal splinter embedded in the back of their eye socket, resulting in pain, swelling, and bleeding that required hospitalization.

An employee was pushing a line of carts into a vestibule when the door cable snapped and struck his right ankle. The employee suffered a fracture that required surgery and hospitalization.

An employee was operating a saw when their right hand contacted the blade(s), resulting in amputation of four fingers and a partial thumb amputation.

An employee was using a telehandler to move pallets of pellets from a pod. The employee exited the telehandler to pick up a sacrificial pallet that is placed under the bottom layer of pallets. When the employee turned to pull the pallet away, the top two tiers of the pod fell on him. The employee sustained a fractured ankle, three fractured ribs, and fractured vertebrae.

An employee was loading a piece of wood onto a machine when the wood came out from under the guard and struck their arm, resulting in a fractured arm.

An employee was preparing to replace a belt on a fan drive assembly. He went to manually stop the fan and was caught by the belt. His hand was pulled into the machine and his left little fingertip was amputated.

An employee was cutting remanufactured lumber with a chainsaw when a board fell and struck his left hand, causing his left hand to move off the chainsaw. While he was moving his hand back, the chainsaw kicked back and lacerated the top of his left hand. The employee was hospitalized.

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.