Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at AMERICAN ORDNANCE LLC, IOWA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT, MIDDLETOWN, IOWA 52638
on — Fractures, affecting the lower leg(s).
Final narrative
An employee was working from a set of portable metal stairs, cleaning ammunition rounds with a drill brush. The wheel from a cart struck the stairs as the cart was pulled forward, causing the employee's leg to slip off the stairs and be caught between the stairs and a bollard. The employee suffered a broken tibia and fibula and was hospitalized.
An employee was walking on the sidewalk near the administrative building when he slipped on ice and fell to the concrete ground. The employee suffered a left hip fracture and was hospitalized.
An employee was pushing a cart loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition shells into an oven. The funnel broke off, causing an explosive to go off. The employee sustained burns on the right side of his head.
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 332993)
An employee was working on a production line. The employee went to retrieve parts that came out of the parts holder, and their left hand became caught between a chain and a sprocket. Three fingers on the hand were amputated.
At about 2:15 p.m. on February 10, 2025, employees were unloading pallets of propellant into a storage warehouse. The pallets were double stacked, and a top-loaded pallet had shifted in transit. Two employees were manually moving the pallet when the fiber packs shifted, causing one employee's left index finger to be pinched between the fiber pack and the pallet. The employee suffered a partial amputation to the fingertip.
An employee was walking on the sidewalk near the administrative building when he slipped on ice and fell to the concrete ground. The employee suffered a left hip fracture and was hospitalized.
A CNC operator was trying to replace a bearing in the hydraulically operated steadying fixture in a CNC machine. The fixture retracted, amputating the end of his right thumb.
An employee was changing an insert in the tool head of a CNC machine. The employee had stepped up approximately 28 inches onto the door track of the machine. When the employee went to step back down to the floor, they lost balance and fell backward onto a rack of metal parts. The employee sustained a compression fracture to the spine.
On September 29, 2025, a rural mail carrier was delivering parcels to a business when she tripped on a parking stop block in front of the business. She fell to the ground and sustained fractures to her left hip and pelvis. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was walking to the back door of the post office when they slipped on the icy ground due to freezing rain and fell. The employee sustained a torn rotator cuff in their right shoulder and a fractured right hip.
An employee was on top of an APC to access a radio on a shelf when they slipped and fell to the ground. They sustained three fractured ribs, a fractured right scapula and right clavicle, a knot on top of their head, and a laceration to their left leg.