Caught in running equipment or machinery, n.e.c. · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at WEATHER SHIELD MFG., INC., 531 North 8th Street, MEDFORD, WISCONSIN 54451
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
On June 4, 2018, an employee was setting up a vinyl extruder when the employee's right middle finger was caught and pulled into the extruder, suffering a partial amputation.
On May 31, 2022, at 8:00 a.m., an employee was removing a block of wood from an electronic glue machine when the wood pinched her right thumb between a metal railing on the side of the machine, resulting in medical amputation.
At about 10:25 a.m. on May 21, 2021, an employee was moving stored pedestal fans from an overhead balcony onto an adjacent elevated forklift platform. As the employee stepped off the balcony and onto the forklift platform, the platform became unstable and tipped off the forks. The employee fell to the concrete floor about 10 feet below, suffering a back/spine injury. The employee was hospitalized.
Employees were assembling and testing a butterfly valve unit and actuator combo. When the unit was function tested with air, the valve gate closed on an employee's left thumb resulting in a fracture and laceration.
An employee was doing a daily inspection of the sifter screen on a mixer when the mixer line activated. The armature for the screen struck the employee's right wrist. Their wrist was cut and their hand was fractured.
An employee was doing a dry run during the setup of an ice cream machine. The machine indexed and the filler head amputated the employee's left middle finger above the last knuckle.
An employee was on a 3-foot ladder guiding cable onto a spool during installation on an overhead door. As the control box was jogged, the employee's hand was caught between the cable and spool, resulting in a wrist and hand fracture.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 321911)
An employee had been unloading material from a drop table. When the employee reached to remove parts from a bin, the drop table came down on their right middle finger. The fingertip was amputated.
An employee was loading sliding doors and window panels onto a truck when the sliding doors fell on top of them. The employee sustained a pelvis fracture and internal injuries and was hospitalized.
The injured employee was working alongside a trainer. The trainer was adjusting the side fences that hold the wood in place as it passes through the molder. The injured employee was using compressed air to clean the area. They went to remove a sliver of wood to prevent a potential jam. The rollers activated, which processed material through the machine, caught the employee s glove, and pulled their hand toward the cutting head of the molder. The employee sustained lacerations to their right middle and ring fingers and an amputation to the distal phalanx of the middle finger.
On August 11, 2025, an employee was operating a clamping machine that used two pneumatic cylinders to clamp boards together for gluing. While he was positioning a board, the control was activated and the clamp on one side of the machine closed. A fingertip on his right hand was caught between the clamp and the board. He suffered an amputation to the fingertip (involving a torn fingernail and surrounding skin) as well as a fracture to the last joint of the finger.
On July 21, 2025, an employee was working from a 10-foot step ladder while installing a 3-by-5-foot glass window pane on the outside of a new home under construction. The window fell from the frame and the employee went to catch it when the ladder slipped. The employee fell 5 feet to the ground and landed on small pieces of concrete left over from the foundation pour. The employee was hospitalized with a dislocated elbow and fractured wrist that required surgery.
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.