Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at U.S. Postal Service Minneapolis/St. Paul NDC, 3165 LEXINGTON AVENUE S., EAGAN, MINNESOTA 55121
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
On May 5, 2018, at 11:15 a.m., an employee was using a scissor lift to change light bulbs. The scissor lift was equipped with a platform extending feature that was not properly latched. The platform handrail then moved and amputated the employee's left pinky fingertip.
On April 2, 2023, at 4:30 AM, an employee was on his way to start his vehicle in the parking lot when he slipped and fell hitting his head on the asphalt. The employee sustained brain bleeding/swelling requiring surgery.
On March 17, 2022, an employee was riding a bicycle between maintenance locations. In maneuvering to avoid a pedestrian, the employee fell, landing on the floor and on a radio he had been carrying on his left side. He suffered a broken left hip.
On or about September 16, 2016, at 1:45 AM, an employee walked outside to speak with a driver at the gate. The employee tripped over a cinder block and fell to the ground, suffering a shattered bone between the left shoulder and elbow.
An employee was operating a forklift and unloading a truck. After the truck was unloaded, the employee got off the forklift and proceeded to adjust the dock plate with a hook tool. The dock plate slipped and the employee went to adjust the plate with their hand when their left middle finger got caught. Their finger was amputated above the first joint.
An employee was rotating a carbide granulator blade when his finger was caught between the blade and a stationary part of the machine. The employee's right middle finger was partially amputated and they suffered an avulsion to the right ring fingertip.
An employee was using a CNC metal lathe machine in manual mode to check that the thread blocking tool made contact with the jaws. As the employee was manually spinning the spindle, his index fingertip was crushed between the spindle's jaws and the grooving insert, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
During a material handling operation, an employee's fingertip was caught under an air conditioning unit as the unit was lowered onto a cart. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
An employee was removing a bolt from a tractor hub when their right index finger was caught between the hub and the frame. The employee's fingertip was crushed and the employee was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 491110)
An employee was working to deliver mail to an apartment building. She was waiting for a customer to move, to obtain clearance to the mailboxes. The door swung inward and closed on her right little finger. The top half of her finger was surgically amputated.
An employee was waiting for an operator to bring mail over to a mail sorting machine when she became pinned between the machine and a stack of pallets being pushed by a powered industrial truck (PIT). The employee suffered bruising and swelling on her hips, lower back, knees, and left side; a puncture wound to her left thigh from a machine screw; a crushed right hand with numbness and tingling; numbness to the left big toe; and a right wrist sprain.
An employee was walking back to a carrier case with mail in her hand when she tripped over a tub. Her back overarched as she fell, resulting in a fractured back that required hospitalization.
An employee delivered a package. On her way back to her vehicle she was attacked by two dogs that came from around a corner. She was hospitalized with dog bites.
An employee was walking in a garage toward her delivery vehicle. As she stepped down a curb near her vehicle, she fell and landed on the concrete garage floor, resulting in a hip injury that required hospitalization.
Employees were performing maintenance operations on a railroad line when the machine experienced a load conveyor motor failure. While clearing the machine to allow for repairs, an employee pinned the left side of the swing conveyor. The operator on the right side then requested a slight bump to the left to align the right side for pinning. Once the swing was in position, the operator went to pin the right side and the chain tensioner failed, resulting in an abrupt release of the swing chain. The chain snapped back and struck the operator s right hand, resulting in a 1-inch laceration and a fractured fifth metacarpal. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery on the hand.
At about 9:15 a.m. on March 10, 2025, an employee was riding along a hardpack snow-covered roadway on a snowmobile. The snowmobile went over a berm and tipped/rolled, causing the employee to fall to the ground. He suffered a collapsed left lung and was hospitalized.
An employee was decommissioning a substation. The tower switch was being set down on the ground when the switch blade moved. The employee's finger was crushed and amputated.