Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc., 700 Ash Street, REEDSBURG, WISCONSIN 53959
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was dumping a hopper when the hopper slid and amputated one of his fingertips.
AmputationFingertip(s)Tanks, bins, vats-nonconfined space
More severe injuries at American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc.
An employee was installing an arm on a crossbar. The employee crouched down to get the pin that would lock the arm in position. The arm fell and severed the employee's left thumb.
An employee was moving an 800-pound core box with a hoist. As the box was lowered, it slid off the hoist hook and struck the employee's ankle, breaking it.
While operating a motorized walk-behind pallet jack, an employee's hand was caught between the handle of the machine and a shelf. This resulted in a fracture to the right-hand pinky finger and dislocated right thumb, requiring subsequent surgery.
An employee was standing on the floor removing a sample of molten iron from a furnace. The sample cup became caught on the lip of the furnace and molten iron spilled onto the employee's aluminized pants, contacting his leg through a pocket opening. He received burns to the thigh, calf, and ankle.
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 331511)
An employee was realigning two halves of a core box on a core-making machine. Pneumatic pressure released, causing the core box to close on the employee's right thumb. The thumb tip was amputated between the nail and the knuckle.
An employee was performing maintenance/electrical work inside a substation, and used a ladder to access the top of a panel box. The employee fell 8-9 feet from the top of the panel box to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to their ribs and a shoulder injury.
An employee's hand was caught in a pinch point in the area of a conveyor for a flask running out of a foundry molding machine. The employee's ring finger was crushed and partially amputated at the base.
An employee noticed a block was out of place under the weighted mold frame. The employee used another block to push the block out and replace it. When the block came out, the frame came down on his right ring and little fingers. The employee sustained a fracture and partial amputation to the ring fingertip.
An employee was using a fork truck to move a tub containing molten iron that had been drained from the cupula. The tub tipped over and the molten metal came in contact with water. This caused the molten iron to splash back and burn the employee's upper torso.
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.