Struck by object falling from vehicle or machinery-other than vehicle part · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at WestRock Hodge Mill, 100 Mill Street, HODGE, LOUISIANA 71247
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was checking a rapper on a recovery boiler precipitator when the rapper rod (weighing approximately 10-15 lbs.) fell from inside the rapper coil assembly and struck the employee on the left middle finger. The employee received a cut/laceration, resulting in a partial amputation of the left middle fingertip with no bone loss.
AmputationFingertip(s)Machine and appliance parts, n.e.c.
A maintenance mechanic was working with another employee to fix the recycle waste conveyor chain. They needed to knock out a bushing on the conveyor chain using a steel rod and bull pin. The employee working with the mechanic struck the metal rod while the mechanic's finger was between the rod and the bull pin. The mechanic's right middle finger was partially amputated.
An employee was transporting an 800-pound die on a cart from the tool room. The employee was pulling the cart when it struck a metal plate on the floor. This caused the cart to tip forward and the die to slide off the cart. The die struck the employee's left foot and their second toe was amputated.
An employee was using a forklift to load pallets of product on a trailer. He exited the forklift to adjust a pallet by hand. The pallet fell on him, resulting in an injury to the left leg.
An employee was lifting a 500-pound steel counterweight off a pallet using a magnetic hold jib crane. The counterweight detached from the crane and the employee sustained a left foot/toe fracture that required surgery.
An employee was using a pipe wrench to turn a 42-foot-long steel pipe on jack stands to weld the bottom portion. The pipe fell off the stands, striking the injured employee on his left shin. The employee sustained a left leg fracture at the shin area as well as a tibia fracture that required surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 322121)
Tools and parts were being lowered to the ground from an elevated platform in a 5-gallon bucket. The rope being used to lower the bucket failed; the tools and parts fell and lacerated the left forearm and upper left leg of an employee on the ground.
An employee was tracking an infeed belt on a scrap hogger when their right arm was caught between the belt and a roller. The arm was broken and the employee's shoulder was dislocated. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was working to clear a jam from a paper napkin folder. The ram that advanced the napkins pushed the employee's right arm into the side of the machine, causing several lacerations and a hairline fracture.
An employee was troubleshooting overflowing ink on a printer-slotter machine when their right ring fingertip was caught in a guarded roller, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was disconnecting wires in preparation to swap out a refiner motor when they contacted energized equipment and sustained an electrical shock. The employee was hospitalized.
A driver was exiting his vehicle outside the plant gate when his foot slipped on the top step of the truck. He fell to the ground, landed on his left hip and elbow. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured hip/femur.
A security employee was responding to an urgent call from staff regarding a violent patient. The employee tripped and fell on the floor outside of the stairwell. The employee sustained a closed head injury, contusion of the cerebrum without loss of consciousness, and a closed fracture of the distal end of the right radius.
A temporary employee was testing an electrical starter motor. He was placing tape on the starter while the breaker was not engaged, but the starter sent an arc flash that burned his hands and stomach.
An employee was walking on a sidewalk and stubbed his toe on an elevated portion of concrete, causing him to trip and fall. The employee's right knee was dislocated.