Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Harbor Freight Tools USA, Inc., 2401 Enterprise Road, ORANGE CITY, FLORIDA 32763
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was transferring a safe with a hand truck. While tilting the hand truck backwards, the safe door opened and fell backwards causing her left middle finger to be caught between the door and side of the safe. The employee suffered a fingertip amputation without bone loss.
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 444130)
An employee was backing up an electric pallet jack when it struck a yellow guardrail, pinning his ankle between the pallet jack and the guardrail. The employee suffered a crush injury to his left ankle and shin.
The injured employee was going to use an elevator to go upstairs. The elevator does not have a call button and is operated manually. The employee approached the elevator and used the elevator drop key located in the elevator key box to manually open the door. He then stepped forward into the elevator shaft. The elevator car was on another floor, resulting in the employee falling down the shaft from the first floor to the basement level. The employee was hospitalized with a sprained left hand and bilateral calcaneal fractures.
An employee was aligning a shipping offload conveyor. A component of the machine caught the employee's left middle finger, amputating it above the second knuckle.
An employee was using a torch to burn off liquid petroleum gas from old 100-pound cylinders so they could be recycled. When he went to move a tank, some gas spilled onto the ground, then ignited in a flash that engulfed him. He was burned on the face, hands, and back and was hospitalized.
An employee was helping a coworker transport a tall palm tree with a mini skid steer. The employee was severely shocked by a high-voltage electrical wire above the ground.
An employee was retrieving a Christmas tree from a shelf using a ladder. He missed a step and fell to the concrete floor. He sustained injury to his head and wrist.
An employee was operating an agricultural tractor during sugarcane harvesting. The employee sustained a lumbar sprain due to vibration or motion from the tractor.
An employee was moving a 3-ton condensing unit, strapped down on a dolly, out of a garage. The strap broke, causing the employee to fall backward onto the brick pavered driveway. The employee suffered injury to a spinal ligament in the neck.