Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, 1600 Fort Jesse Rd, NORMAL, ILLINOIS 61761
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
On April 14, 2018, an employee was attempting to remove bead tape from a spiral wrap machine when he stepped on the foot pedal and engaged the machine. The roller began to move and pulled his left middle finger into the nip point between the roller and machine frame, amputating his fingertip.
AmputationFingertip(s)Special process machinery, unspecified
More severe injuries at Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
An employee was walking backward on top of a tire machine while carrying drum sections when he fell 2.5 feet onto the machine's O-ring segment. This resulted in two fractured ribs and a punctured lung that required hospitalization.
An employee was driving his forklift down a receiving aisle when it collided with another forklift. The employee's left leg was caught between the two forklifts, suffering a fracture. He was hospitalized.
An employee was attempting to load material into a monorail cart. As the employee was pushing the material into the monorail material cups, the employee's right middle finger was pinched between the material shell bar and monorail cart cups. The fingertip had to be surgically amputated.
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 326211)
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 changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.