Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Michels Corporation, 817 W. Main Street, BROWNSVILLE, WISCONSIN 53006
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was manually unloading sections of counterweight pipe. Each pipe had swiveling D-rings mounted on the ends to be used for lifting the pipes with slings. The employee's finger got caught between a D-ring and a pipe resulting in a partial finger amputation.
An employee was installing/winding a rope on a four-drum, motorized rope puller. The employee's right little finger was caught between the rope and the drum, and 1/2 inch was amputated from the tip of the finger.
An employee was attempting to remove a rock that had jammed a mechanical gate on a batch plant hopper and conveyor. When the rock became free, the gate snapped shut, pinching the employee's hand and fingers between the gate and the stop point of the gate. Four fingers were amputated at the second joint of the knuckles.
An employee was painting a 4" pipe when he tried to clean the residual paint off the paint mixer drill bit attachment. He was using a nylon sack to wipe the excess paint off when the drill was inadvertently activated. His left pinky finger became wrapped in the nylon sack material, resulting in a finger amputation.
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 237990)
A crew was installing drilled micropiles alongside an outdoor covered deck foundation. The injured employee was working the front of the drill when a loose section of casing dropped onto the tip of a rig wrench and pulled the wrench down to an embedded casing. The employee's left little finger was caught between the rig wrench and the embedded casing and was amputated above the top knuckle.
An employee was standing on an extension ladder, using a torquing tool to remove bolts that secured blades to a rotor. When the torquing tool activated, its reaction arm came around and pinched the employee's right middle finger against a lifting eye. His fingertip was amputated.
Employees were securing the fuel line of an outboard motor in preparation for removing the motor from a small vessel located in the equipment yard. A gasoline-related fire occurred and one employee sustained burns to both hands and forearms.
A marine diver/construction worker was working underwater, using a hydraulic dredge to clear sediment away from the base of a dam. The dredge's suction nozzle began migrating toward him, and then pulled in his right hand and forearm. He sustained compartment syndrome in the hand and forearm.
An employee was standing on a sheet of -inch by 4-foot by 8-foot plywood on top of a rebar mat, supervising his crew. As he was moving to alert the crew to an incoming overhead load, he stepped off the plywood and his left foot slipped through the rebar mat and landed on the rebar mat below. His left ankle was broken and dislocated.
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.