Caught in running equipment or machinery, n.e.c. · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Kawneer Company, Inc., 500 E 12th St, BLOOMSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17815
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
A temporary employee was teaching an employee how to clean rollers in the pouring and debridge area of the facility. When they were done cleaning the roller, the employee placed it back into the lathe and used a chuck key to tighten it into place. The temporary employee instructed the other employee to turn on the lathe. As the lathe was being turned on, the temporary employee saw the key was still in the chuck and went to remove it. The employee's finger got caught between the key and the guard resulting in amputation of the left index fingertip.
On May 5, 2025, an employee was loading large, fixed door panels inside a trailer to be delivered to the customer. While positioning a panel, it began to tip to the left and contacted the other panels that were in a row inside the trailer. This caused the 11 panels in the row to fall and pin the employee against the trailer wall. The employee was hospitalized with a laceration to the head and head trauma.
An employee was operating a CNC machine when the part being worked on was ejected from the machine and struck the inside of their right arm. The employee sustained a laceration on their arm.
An employee was operating a forklift with a hopper, dumping aluminum extrusion scrap. The employee had driven into a trailer to dump a load of scrap, then left the forklift cab and released the dump on the hopper so the material could be dumped forward into the trailer. The hopper moved back toward the forklift and caught the employee's left ring finger against the forks. The finger was partially amputated.
Two employees were repositioning an extrusion press's tail stretcher. The head stretcher was moved closer to the tail stretcher while one employee's right hand was on the material flow table. His little finger was pinched between the metal and the table, suffering an amputation.
An employee was maneuvering a steel transport cart next to a similar steel transport cart when his left fifth digit was pinched between the two carts, causing a laceration, fracture, and dislocation to the distal phalange.
Employees were assembling and testing a butterfly valve unit and actuator combo. When the unit was function tested with air, the valve gate closed on an employee's left thumb resulting in a fracture and laceration.
An employee was doing a daily inspection of the sifter screen on a mixer when the mixer line activated. The armature for the screen struck the employee's right wrist. Their wrist was cut and their hand was fractured.
An employee was doing a dry run during the setup of an ice cream machine. The machine indexed and the filler head amputated the employee's left middle finger above the last knuckle.
An employee was on a 3-foot ladder guiding cable onto a spool during installation on an overhead door. As the control box was jogged, the employee's hand was caught between the cable and spool, resulting in a wrist and hand fracture.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 331315)
A maintenance technician was investigating a tool issue. He was pressing the tool clamp/unclamp button with his right hand when his hand slipped off the button, causing the spindle to clamp on his distal left index finger, resulting in amputation.
An employee had just fixed a loose aluminum coil on a rack while raised about 11 feet into the air on a forklift. While he was being lowered, he fell from the forks to the floor, suffering two fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and a fractured cervical vertebra. He was hospitalized.
An employee was troubleshooting a caster machine. While removing a cap cover, the catch pan moved up and caught his right arm against the caster blocks. He suffered lacerations and an open break of the ulna. He was hospitalized.
At 11:27 a.m. on March 15, 2025, an employee was transferring film to start a new roll when the winder shaft failed to seat properly in its cradle. The employee was knocking the unseated shaft down when his right thumb was caught. The employee sustained an amputation to right thumb.
Two employees were riding in a utility terrain vehicle down a loose gravel path. The vehicle's front wheel dug into the gravel, and it rolled over onto its side. The injured employee struck the interior of the vehicle (including the steering wheel) before landing on the driver. The injured employee suffered a 6-inch head laceration, a broken collarbone, and six broken ribs.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.