Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Berntsen Brass & Aluminum Foundry, Inc., 2334 Pennsylvania Avenue, MADISON, WISCONSIN 53704
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
On March 27, 2019, a maintenance employee was attempting to free a jammed chain inside of a hoist when the chain moved, causing an amputation to the employee's left index fingertip.
AmputationFingertip(s)Material and personnel handling machinery, unspecified
More severe injuries at Berntsen Brass & Aluminum Foundry, Inc.
On April 27, 2021, an employee was belt-grinding an aluminum casting when the casting's weight and momentum crushed the employee's left ring finger against a metal cart. The finger was severely lacerated and broken.
An employee was placing a zinc ingot into an induction melting electric furnace. When the zinc ingot contacted the molten metal, the furnace blew up, causing severe burns to the employee's upper body and minor burns to a coworker.
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 331524)
An employee was grinding raw couplings on a belt sander to shave off excess material left by the manufacturing process. The employee's right hand slipped while he was pressing a part to the sander, causing his right thumb to come into contact with the sanding belt. The thumb was lacerated and broken, and the employee was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was buffing a corner casting when the rotating belt contacted her right hand, resulting in an amputation of the first segment of her right thumb.
An employee was assembling boilers, which involved stacking the flat sections of boilers on top of one another and pushing them down a non-powered roller line. While the employee was pushing a stack onto the next set of rollers, the stack became crooked. The employee went to pull back the stack to straighten it when their finger was pinched by a roller. The employee sustained a partial amputation to their left ring fingertip.
On June 25, 2025, at 7.30 a.m., an employee was using a remote-controlled crane to change a die in a 2,600-ton press. They were releasing crane cables from the die when one cable did not release, causing the die to lift and pin the employee between the press and the die. The employee suffered a closed non-displaced fracture of the pelvis.
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.