Newport News Shipbuilding Division of Huntington Ingalls
Water vehicle incident, n.e.c. · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Newport News Shipbuilding Division of Huntington Ingalls, 4101 Washington Avenue, NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA 23607
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was removing bolts from the diving door of a submarine using an air-driven impact wrench. When he removed the final bolt, the door swung down, pushing the impact wrench down on his hand. His thumb was pinched between the impact wrench and a support beam under the submarine. The employee sustained an amputation to the left thumb that included bone loss.
An employee was changing out a reaming bit on a cordless magnetic drill. When installing a bit extension, the drill power switch contacted the working surface and the drill subsequently became energized. The employee's cut-resistant glove became tangled in the drill bit and it contacted his right thumb, resulting in an amputation.
An employee was climbing a fixed scaffold ladder when a guardrail pin came loose. The employee fell 6.5 feet to the floor below, sustaining fractures to the left hip and right wrist.
An employee was performing carbon arc welding when hot multi-metal weld fell downward and onto the employee's skin between the neck and chest, under the collar of the employee's fire-rated overalls. The employee suffered second and third degree burns.
On September 15, 2021, an employee was removing the through-spindle coolant tube on a gantry mill. The employee lowered the coolant tube and another component shifted, causing his left index and middle fingers to become pinched. The employee's index finger was lacerated at the point of impact and required surgery.
An employee was entering the back door of his work location when he tripped over a concrete slab and fell, resulting in a fracture to his left hip below the ball joint.
An employee was assisting with loading product (sacks of dirt) onto a barge. The sack of dirt swung and pinched the employee between it and other sets of product on the barge. The employee suffered a neck compression injury and was knocked unconscious.
An employee was on a barge adjacent to a lift that was being tested. As the load was lowered, a nylon stiffener broke free from existing structural steel and fell 80 feet, striking the employee in the right forearm. The employee sustained two broken bones in the forearm.
An employee was offloading cargo from the hatch of a motor vessel onto a dock when the cargo (bagged cement) struck the employee and caused them to contact a nearby hatch wall. The employee sustained injuries to their neck, right lower back and right leg.
An employee was walking across the barge when they stepped across a barge gunnel lid that was hidden due to coal spillage. The lid came up and struck the employee, resulting in abdominal bruising.
An employee was climbing up an A-frame ladder to gain overhead access to install ship ventilation equipment. The employee's safety glasses bumped the sprinkler head diffuser, which knocked his glasses off and caused a laceration to his left lower eyelid and an injury to the sclera.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 336611)
An employee was hooking up bundled tie-downs with a chain. While he was holding a hook, the other hook was unlocked. This caused the employee's hook to slide down and pinch his right index finger between the chain and the shackle. He suffered an amputation to the fingertip (without bone loss), as well as an open fracture.
An employee was preparing to bend a flat bar in a brake press. When the machine was jogged, the stock rotated up and crushed his left middle fingertip against the outer frame of the die. The fingertip was amputated.
An employee was cutting metal with a torch. A piece of metal struck the employee's left foot, causing multiple fractures to metatarsal(s). The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was descending a ladder carrying a bag of trash. He fell, landed on the ground about 10 feet below, and suffered fractures to his right hip and pelvis.
A building engineer was inspecting a generator. As he closed the generator enclosure door, his right ring finger was caught between the door and the door frame. The fingertip was amputated.
An employee was walking back to a carrier case with mail in her hand when she tripped over a tub. Her back overarched as she fell, resulting in a fractured back that required hospitalization.
An employee was driving a utility tractor rig when it struck the rear trailer of another utility tractor rig, which was traveling in the opposite direction. The glancing impact caused damage to the cab, and he sustained a laceration on right side of his face, a cervical fracture, two fractured left ribs, and a pelvic fracture. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was washing an aircraft from a scissor lift when they fell to the floor. The employee sustained a back injury and lacerations to their head and neck.