Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at West Pharmaceutical Services Inc., 2921 West Reach Rd., WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA 17701
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
On Friday, January 3, 2020, at approximately 10:50 AM, an employee was troubleshooting an injection molding machine. With the machine locked out, the employee reached into the molding area of the machine and manually pressed against the mold-closing mechanism. The mechanism closed and caught his right pinky finger, resulting in a first digit amputation.
An employee was standing at the box making machine's manual conveyor. The employee's foot got caught on the fixed leg of the conveyor. The employee's knee then buckled and she fell. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured right patella and a fractured left humerus.
An employee locked a machine out, opened the panel door, and was reattaching a wire nut onto a conduit when his hand touched a live wire. He was shocked and suffered a burn on his hand, requiring hospitalization. Although the machine was de-energized at the time of the incident, power was still coming into it through a box at the top of the machine.
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 326199)
An employee was operating a drill and tap machine. He was placing a part with his right hand and removing a part coming in on the left side. He saw a part that was crooked and went to straighten it. The machine clamped down on his left index finger, degloving the top part of the finger and resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was performing maintenance on a roll cutting machine in a warehouse. The employee was removing excess grease from the bearings when the machine's chain caught their right index finger. The fingertip was amputated by the chain and sprocket.
During fiberglass work, an employee mixed a methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) catalyst with a cobalt chemical that they thought was a dye. A chemical reaction occurred, resulting in an explosion. The employee sustained second-degree burns on his back and a blister on his right arm.
An employee was walking when she tripped over a box on the ground and fell. The employee was hospitalized with a severe dislocation to the hip and leg that required surgery.
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.