Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Penn Color, Inc., 1474 Putman Parkway, MILTON, WISCONSIN 53563
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee opened a process lid to address a jam in a piece of equipment. The lid bounced back and closed, catching his right thumb and amputating the tip.
After driving a forklift to retrieve an empty drum, an employee was found unconscious next to the forklift, which was parked with the forks lowered. He suffered a head laceration, head contusion, and shoulder contusion.
An employee's gloved hand made contact with and was pulled in between two rollers of a mill machine while he was loading small, hardened chips of pre-mix onto the rollers for further processing. He sustained four right-hand finger amputations and third degree burns to his right forearm.
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 325211)
An employee was monitoring a rotary press when his left hand became caught in the machinery. The employee's left middle finger was amputated at the distal interphalangeal joint.
An employee was sweeping in an area with powdered PVC on the floor and began having difficulty breathing and coughing up blood, The employee was hospitalized for inhalation of PVC.
An employee was working on a pastillator machine, which processes resin-based materials into solid pastilles. His right hand became caught between the feed roller (operating at approximately 350 F) and the cooling belt. The employee s glove and shirt sleeve adhered to his arm due to the heat. The employee sustained third-degree burns to his right hand and forearm, requiring hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was troubleshooting a leak on a low pressure (less than 50 PSI) condensate line in the oxidation area of the plant. He was working to remove insulation around a valve when either the valve or the line failed, and hot condensate contacted his right arm, right abdomen area, and the front of both legs, resulting in second- and third-degree burns.
An employee was replacing a fan on a cooling unit. As he went to adjust a pump, the unit caught his right hand and the fan blades severely lacerated his index finger. He underwent a medical amputation to the finger.
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.