Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at 3M, 610 North Brown County Road 19, ABERDEEN, SOUTH DAKOTA 57401
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was removing a plastic component that was jammed in a de-energized machine. The employee placed their left hand on a metal slide, then used pliers with their right hand to pry the slide open. Upon applying significant force to the slide with the pliers, the jam broke free. The employee's left index fingertip was pinched and amputated between the slide and an adjacent metal surface.
An employee was preparing to remove a 900-pound roll from an extrusion machine. The roll fell off and the employee sustained an arm fracture that required hospitalization.
An employee was making an adjustment to an extruder. The employee's gloved left hand was caught in a roll-to-roll nip point causing fractures to the ring and little fingers. The employee underwent a medical amputation to the little fingertip.
An employee was trying to manually unjam a component within a machine. An abrupt rotation within the machine caused the employee's left middle fingertip to be crushed between two metal machine parts. The fingertip was amputated.
An employee was unloading new equipment from a pallet skid. The employee was removing the strapping from a panel when it became dislodged from the transportation skid and began to tip. The employee attempted to balance the paneling but succumbed to the size. The panel continued to tip and caught the employee's finger between the panel and the parked forklift's mast, resulting in a partial amputation to the right ring finger from the nail bed to the tip.
An employee had just finished maintenance work on an HVAC system. He was closing the guard cover when it slipped, smashed his left hand (bruising two fingers), and severed the tip of the ring finger.
Two employees were repairing the hydraulic engagement pins on a rented front-end wheel loader. The machine controls were activated to move the attachment pins and an employee's finger was caught between the pins and the bushings. Their right index finger was partially amputated.
An employee was cleaning the conveyor on a piece of equipment when they slipped and their right hand was pulled into the chain sprocket. The employee's fifth fingertip was amputated.
An employee was throwing blankets onto a blanket folding and stacking machine. A blanket got stuck in the machine and she attempted to remove it when the machine contacted her right little finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 313230)
An employee was working from a ladder and adjusting a spreader guide roller with a T-handle Allen wrench. The employee came into contact with an electrical junction box/wires, was shocked, and fell off the ladder to the concrete floor. He suffered a broken right-side rib, a puncture in the right lung, and an electrical shock burn to the right palm.
On January 3, 2025, at approximately 11:35 AM, an employee was inspecting and changing spin pumps on a line. He was using an impact gun to remove the bolts when the pressure sprayed hot polymer on his head, face, and arms resulting in burns. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was doing quality control work to get the right thickness of the material. She contacted a component on a mill and sustained the amputation of four fingers on her right hand.
An employee was servicing the belt on a fan when their right ring finger became caught between the belt and pulley. They sustained amputation of the fingertip. The machine was locked out at the time.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.