Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Bake's Steel Erectors, Inc., 900 N. Michigan Ave., CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60611
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was in a scissor lift welding a clip angle and needed to reposition the scissor lift for the next weld. While repositioning the scissor lift, his left hand was caught between the top rail and an existing pipe support, resulting in a partial pinky fingertip amputation.
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 238120)
An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.
An employee was attempting to lift a steel beam from a horizontal, stacked position to a vertical position using a crane. They had placed two hooks on the east side of the beam on the flange. As the employee was hoisting the crane, the beam began to shift and pulled the employee forward onto the stack. When the material shifted, the hooks released and the material fell, pinning the employee between the two beams. The employee was hospitalized with soft tissue contusions on their proximal right thigh and interior left thigh.
An employee was standing on the surface of a steel beam about two feet wide. He slipped and fell backward, landing on the concrete ground about 20 feet below. The employee sustained a broken pelvis.
An employee was unloading a rebar delivery from a flatbed, 19-wheel trailer. The employee rigged the load with wire rope chokers. The load was picked up 3-4 feet above the trailer deck by a crane. The load began to swing and the employee grabbed onto it to prevent it from being pushed off the trailer deck. The crane continued to lift the load, and the employee let go so the crane did not lift him to the third story. The employee fell approximately 12 feet to the ground below, resulting in a back injury and fractured vertebrae.
An employee was attaching a steel angle plate weighing (approximately 200 pounds) to the end of a structural member (5,000 pounds) and was supported by dunnage. The dunnage was a crane mat (11 inches tall) with a 4x6 board on top of it and it supported five identical members. The main piece was 30.75 feet long, 37.25 feet tall, and 1 food wide. As the employee slid the piece of metal on top of the member to begin attaching it, the entire member began to tip over. The employee went to stop the main piece from tipping over and it landed on his ankle, fracturing it.
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.