Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at U.S. Pipe Fabrication, 2023 Saint Louis Avenue, BESSEMER, ALABAMA 35020
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was operating an overhead crane, using it to move a 20-ton ladle. While the employee was unlatching the safety hook, the crane moved and the hook tightened on the employee's left hand, crushing it against the ladle trunnion/bar. The employee's ring fingertip was amputated to the first knuckle, and the tip of the middle finger was crushed to the first knuckle.
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 332996)
An employee was rolling a pipe in a cutting rack and his right little finger became caught between sections of the pipe. The employee's finger was surgically amputated.
An employee was working a vertical bandsaw, cutting half-inch diameter rods into pieces. While using a steel chisel to move the cut pieces, the blade caught his leather glove and pulled his index finger in. The employee sustained an amputation of the finger between the first and second knuckle.
An employee was operating a lathe in a machine shop. The rotating head of the lathe caught the employee's left glove, resulting in a compound open fracture to the left wrist and a laceration to left ear.
An employee was descending the stairs of an oil/gas rig. As he approached the fifth step from the bottom, he slipped. His left ankle was caught in the steps, and he suffered fractures to the left fibula, tibia, and talus. He was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
The injured employee was loading a piece of pipe into a pipe bending machine. He had his right hand on the front of the loader while his left hand supported the piece of pipe in the back. A second operator had slightly clamped around the pipe to keep it in place. The third operator called out a measurement. The machine actuated and caught the the injured employee's left middle and ring fingers between the wiper and the material. The employee required surgery and sustained amputations to the distal joint of the middle and ring fingers.
An employee was traveling down the maintenance aisle of a warehouse on a single-pallet front rider jack. The jack malfunctioned, causing the brakes to apply; the employee fell forward onto the concrete warehouse floor. The employee suffered an injury to the left leg and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was operating a metal roller machine to roll a small piece of metal. The employee's right index finger became caught between the metal and the machine, and the fingertip was amputated.
An employee was directing a truck driver to a dump site when the truck's peanut trailer slipped off the kingpin. As the trailer fell, a ladder attached to it lacerated the employee's ear. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was unloading a forklift from a trailer to the ground. The employee was climbing down the ladder of the trailer when their foot slipped through one of the rungs, causing them to fall backward onto the forklift forks. The employee was hospitalized for fractured ribs.