Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Pratt Industries, 700 E. 37th St. N., WICHITA, KANSAS 67219
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
The injured employee was manually moving a belt into position on a four belt gear pulley. The machine was locked out at the time. While walking belt #1 over onto the pulley where belt #2 had broken off, the injured employee had a co-worker manually rotate the shaft on the other side of the machine to help walk the belt into position. The injured employee was pulling up on the belt with his right hand and was using a screwdriver with his left hand to move the belt. The rotating shaft then reversed direction and the injured employee's right-hand fingers were caught between the belt and pulley resulting in a partial amputation to the middle fingertip and a fracture to the pinky finger.
An employee was trying to push a stuck stack of cardboard from one conveyor belt line to the next. The first line reversed and the employee's left foot was caught between the two lines, sustaining a fracture and laceration.
An employee was working at the baler/hogger shredding up corrugated boxes when a jam occurred. The employee used a metal pipe to try and clear/unjam the hogger when his right hand was pinned between the pipe and hogger's door frame, fracturing his third, fourth, and fifth fingers.
An employee was re-stacking corrugated sheets on a conveyor storage line when their left foot was caught between two sections of the conveyor resulting in a laceration/de-gloving injury.
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 322211)
On October 22, 2025, an employee was working to put a conveyor chain back on the track of a conveyor when their fingers were caught between the chain and the chain track, pulling their right hand into the sprocket. Four fingers were amputated.
An employee was cleaning the headers of the core machine using a hand drill with a brush attachment. His glove was caught on the brush shaft, resulting in amputation of the left middle fingertip.
An employee was operating a winder paper mill machine when their right index finger became caught in the machine. The finger was partially amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was lubricating a chain and sprocket on a corrugator splicer. He lost his balance, and his right middle finger came into contact with the chain and sprocket. The fingertip was amputated at the nail bed.
An employee was entering a building and reached out to catch a closing door. The door closed on the employee's finger, resulting in the partial amputation of the fingertip and nailbed.
An employee was working to remove a product blockage from a piece of equipment. The employee was struck by a metal bar near the deck of the pin mixer equipment and sustained blunt force trauma to the torso.
An employee was moving a rack onto a lower conveyor in the south heat treat area when their finger got caught between the part tray and the rollers, resulting in a fingertip fracture and amputation.
An employee was climbing a ladder to get on top of the breakroom. The ladder slipped, causing him to fall to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to his upper back, left foot, and ankle.
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.