Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Southwire Company, LLC, 1 Southwire Dr, CARROLLTON, GEORGIA 30119
on — Fractures, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was changing a heat print ribbon when the print wheel was lowered onto the wire. The rolling wheel crushed the employee's left index finger, causing an open tuft fracture.
On May 20, 2025, an employee was stringing up a drawing machine. He turned and his feet became tangled in the floor mats, causing him to fall and strike his knee on the floor. The employee sustained a fractured left femur.
An employee was preparing to place extruded wire onto a take-up reel using a "mule rope" affixed to the start end of the wire and had tied the other end of the mule rope to the take-up reel. The employee was using their left hand to hold the mule rope in place on the end of the wire. While the employee was jogging the reel to take the slack out of the mule rope, the mule rope tightened and pinched the employee's left index fingertip. The employee sustained an amputation of the fingertip.
An employee stopped a machine to exchange a full reel for an empty reel in the take-up. The employee rolled the empty reel into the take-up and placed the tail of the wire into the flange hole of the reel. The employee then began removing slack from the wire. As the wire tightened, it got caught on a bolt on a motor of the take-up. The wire was pulled tight and caught the employee's finger against the reel flange amputating the employee's fingertip.
An employee was lowering a spool on a take-up machine. The spool went up instead of down and pinched his left index finger against a knob. He suffered an amputation at the first joint.
An employee was troubleshooting an oil separator and suffered amputation of their right ring finger below the first joint. The machine was not shut down or locked out at the time.
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 331420)
An employee was loading an empty reel on the west reel take-up when they noticed that the wire lying on the east reel take-up had over-accumulated on one side of the reel, making it uneven. The employee stopped the east take-up machine and released tension on the wire to correct the lay. As the employee engaged a mechanical rotation function to take up the wire slack, their right little finger was crushed between two separate wire strands on the reel under tension, resulting in a fingertip amputation. The machine was guarded at the time of the incident.
An employee was operating an overhead crane to transport a bundle of copper tubing. He went to lower the load as he was approaching a rack, but the suspended bundle of tubing suddenly jerked in the other direction. The bundle struck a nearby tool cabinet, and the cabinet tipped over. The employee went to prevent it from falling. However, the cabinet still fell over, striking his right arm and briefly pinning it against another object. The employee suffered a fractured right forearm that required hospitalization.
An employee was working to manually clear copper tubes from the turnover rack due to a faulty sensor. As he used his right hand to remove a finished tube from the turnover rack, another tube pushed through the feed line and struck his gloved right ring fingertip. The sharp edge of the copper tube caused a soft tissue amputation to the bottom side of the fingertip.
An employee was cleaning slag from a casting mold at a furnace. The molten copper dropped out of the mold too quickly, reacted with the mold cooling water, and blew out. The molten metal struck his right foot, hand, and torso, causing first-, second-, and third-degree burns.
An employee was working with a drill press when his right glove was caught and pulled into the drill bit. The employee's little fingertip was partially amputated.
An employee was helping to lift the grating from a floor draining system when the grating slipped and landed on his hand, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger at the first joint.
During a workshop meeting in a hotel, an employee heard a drilling noise, so he walked outside to see what it was. An explosion occurred (possible gas line) and his face, ear, and hair were burned. He also fell and sustained a pelvic fracture.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.