Contact with objects and equipment, unspecified · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at CATERPILLAR, 27TH AND PERSHING, DECATUR, ILLINOIS 62526
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was installing a machining center when the employee's right index fingertip was amputated by a ball screw on the machining center's horizontal axis.
An employee was attaching parts to a motor grader as part of its assembly. A part to be attached was on a mobile cart; the employee's right ring finger was caught between the cart and the grader, and was partially amputated at the third joint.
While moving a lower power train brake assembly with an overhead crane/lifting device, an employee's left thumb was pinched and amputated in a pinch point.
An employee was running a deflashing machine. The main auger of the machine registered a fault. The employee cleared the alarm and vacuumed out the media. He reached into the auger to clear the media by hand. The machine was running at the time. His right hand made contact with the moving auger, resulting in a partial amputation of his middle finger.
Two employees were struck by the rotary table of a drilling rig while installing caisson. Employee 1 suffered multiple fractures, internal injuries, and head trauma. Employee 2 suffered multiple fractures, internal injuries, spinal injury, and head trauma.
Employees were felling hazard trees. The injured employee was conducting 'bucking' operations to saw a tree from the road when the tree kicked-back, pinning him against the ground and fracturing his left femur. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was chaining a vehicle when he had to change tools and the compressor. As the compressor was being charged, the employee stepped near the vehicle to make sure the compressor was attached. Then, he instructed a co-worker to lower the compressor. His right hand was on the compressor and under the chain, causing his ring finger to be crushed.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 333120)
An employee was working behind a stack of steel I-beams (stacked 2 columns deep and 4 levels high on the floor) while a forklift was pushing the stack. When the forklift took off the second-to-last beam, the last one was pushed over, causing it to fall to the ground and strike the employee. The employee sustained a fracture to the right leg.
An employee was lifting a flat sub (sheet steel) in the flats robot cell (weld area). He was operating a hoist when his left little fingertip got caught between the lifting device hook and the flat sub. The employee sustained a partial transphalangeal amputation.
An employee was underneath a 35-foot boom truck and adjusting the transmission linkage when the truck jumped over the wheel chocks and rolled over the employee's right leg, resulting in a fracture.
A crane was being used to lift a debris tank from a rack. The tank crushed the employee's right hand, causing amputations to the employee's right ring finger and little fingertip.
An employee was removing a small sheet metal part out of the die of the brake press. The foot pedal was pressed, causing the part to lift and crush their left thumb against the die. The employee suffered an amputation to the thumb tip including the loss of flesh and the fingernail.
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.