Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork Co., Inc., 1323 S. 11th Ave., WAUSAU, WISCONSIN 54401
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was pushing a board into a wood moulder. The feed roller engaged and pinched his right index finger against the board. He suffered a partial amputation to the finger (without bone loss) and the nailbed.
On August 11, 2025, an employee was operating a clamping machine that used two pneumatic cylinders to clamp boards together for gluing. While he was positioning a board, the control was activated and the clamp on one side of the machine closed. A fingertip on his right hand was caught between the clamp and the board. He suffered an amputation to the fingertip (involving a torn fingernail and surrounding skin) as well as a fracture to the last joint of the finger.
On May 5, 2022, an employee was trimming aluminum window bars with a table router. While checking the vacuum collecting aluminum chips from the window bars, the router bit contacted the employee's left index finger, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was operating a saw machine. The sawblade amputated the employee's right index finger between the third and fourth knuckles and lacerated the employee's right middle finger in the same place.
On December 14, 2017, an employee was operating a CNC router machine when the employee noticed a tool was loose on the machine. The employee was then struck by the router, suffering a right femur fracture and right thigh laceration.
On December 9, 2015, an employee was using a table saw to cut lumber. As he was making the cut, the board started to rise and kick back. He attempted to control the kickback by pushing down and forward into the saw. His hand was on the trailing end of the board as he pushed, and his right ring finger's first digit was amputated by the saw blade.
An employee was sharpening peeler blades when their shirt was caught in the grinding wheel. The employee sustained tendon damage and a crushed right hand.
An employee was preparing to cut lumber on a panel saw when the clamp engaged and caught the employee's left middle finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 321911)
An employee had been unloading material from a drop table. When the employee reached to remove parts from a bin, the drop table came down on their right middle finger. The fingertip was amputated.
An employee was loading sliding doors and window panels onto a truck when the sliding doors fell on top of them. The employee sustained a pelvis fracture and internal injuries and was hospitalized.
The injured employee was working alongside a trainer. The trainer was adjusting the side fences that hold the wood in place as it passes through the molder. The injured employee was using compressed air to clean the area. They went to remove a sliver of wood to prevent a potential jam. The rollers activated, which processed material through the machine, caught the employee s glove, and pulled their hand toward the cutting head of the molder. The employee sustained lacerations to their right middle and ring fingers and an amputation to the distal phalanx of the middle finger.
On August 11, 2025, an employee was operating a clamping machine that used two pneumatic cylinders to clamp boards together for gluing. While he was positioning a board, the control was activated and the clamp on one side of the machine closed. A fingertip on his right hand was caught between the clamp and the board. He suffered an amputation to the fingertip (involving a torn fingernail and surrounding skin) as well as a fracture to the last joint of the finger.
On July 21, 2025, an employee was working from a 10-foot step ladder while installing a 3-by-5-foot glass window pane on the outside of a new home under construction. The window fell from the frame and the employee went to catch it when the ladder slipped. The employee fell 5 feet to the ground and landed on small pieces of concrete left over from the foundation pour. The employee was hospitalized with a dislocated elbow and fractured wrist that required surgery.
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.