Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Soreness, pain, hurt-nonspecified injury
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at 3M Company, 4501 Hwy 377 South, BROWNWOOD, TEXAS 76801
on — Soreness, pain, hurt-nonspecified injury, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
Two employees were lowering a large roll using a hoist. One employee's hand was caught between the roll's steel core and a storage rack, causing a thumb injury with exposed tissue.
At about 10:00 a.m. on July 13, 2025, an employee was cleaning the adhesive from running rollers using a rag soaked in cleaning solvent to prevent contamination. The rag was caught between two rollers and pulled the employee's right hand between the rollers. The employee sustained right hand crushing injuries, de-gloving injuries (palmer and dorsal sides), and fractures. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
On May 8, 2025, an employee developed a cough while cleaning up chemical sewage from the floor. He was hospitalized, having suffered an allergic reaction to chemical product vapors.
An employee was walking between a stack of pallets and a rack when they tripped over a pallet and fell to the floor. The employee sustained a left hip fracture.
An employee was setting up the coding station on a piece of equipment when they took a step back and tripped on a guard that was on the floor. The employee fell onto one leg, resulting in a left hip fracture. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was removing a carbon dioxide line when red liquid was found on the ground. The employee reported a "red spot" on their left wrist, inside elbow, and chest after washing down the spill. The employee experiencing escalation of symptoms, including a rash/burn on their arms and respiratory symptoms after the shift. The employee was hospitalized with chemical pneumonitis, chemical dermatitis, and chemical asthma exacerbation.
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 332312)
On October 21, 2025, an employee was operating a saw when a pneumatic clamp caught their right middle finger. The employee suffered a partial amputation to the finger.
An employee completed an end cut on a metal shim and started transferring the metal shim from the saw conveyor to two saw horses in the area. The employee set one end of the shim (7 feet long x 8 inches wide, weighing 218 pounds) on one of the saw horses, then slid the other end onto the other saw horse and the shim fell from the first saw horse. The employee's left index fingertip was pinched between the saw horse and the shim, resulting in a skin avulsion. The fingertip was amputated later.
An employee was using a crane to move a 44-foot, 3,343-pound I-beam. As the beam was moving west, it straightened out (north to south), beginning to swing south toward the northwest corner of a building. The crane then sent the beam southward, directly toward the corner of the building. The beam caught the tips of the employee's left index, middle, and ring fingers against the building. The last joints of the middle and ring fingers were amputated, and the last joint of the index finger was partially crushed.
An employee was moving steel beams with an overhead crane when the bundle struck a bollard and became unstable. As the employee reached to stop the material from shifting, his thumb was pinched in-between the beams, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was rigging a steel joist to be lifted by a crane. The joist fell and pinned the employee against the concrete ground. The employee sustained fractures to multiple ribs, his right arm, right tibia, and an open fracture to his right ankle, as well as a dislocated right hip.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.