GATES CORPORATION

Two maintenance technicians were changing out drive belts on the south end of the vulcanizing vessel. To check the proper function of the drive belts, the technicians manually cycled the cars into and then out of the vessel. One technician was manually cycling the vessel back out and the injured technician was inspecting the belts and checking the tension. The injured technician's right index finger was pinched between the belt and the pulley, resulting in an amputation of the distal phalanx.

An employee was cleaning a mandrel shaft with an emery cloth when their glove became caught on the rotating shaft. Their right hand was pulled in with the glove and their thumb was amputated.

On February 20, 2024, at approximately 6:30 a.m., an employee was unjamming rubber that had become stuck in a machine. When the machine started, the flapper moved, striking and compressing the employee. The employee was hospitalized for three fractured ribs, a partially collapsed lung, and a puncture wound in the middle of their back.

An employee was operating a hose/bender machine. He was reaching to adjust a piece of hose and got caught in a pinch point, sustaining an amputation to his finger.

On 8/9/2023, an employee was pressure washing a mandrel shell when the pressurized mixture lacerated their right hand near the thumb. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was changing a saw blade when the saw machine activated. The employee's left ring and little fingers were amputated.

An employee was clearing a jam from the label cutting machine when their left middle finger was partially amputated.

Two employees were repairing the hydraulic engagement pins on a rented front-end wheel loader. The machine controls were activated to move the attachment pins and an employee's finger was caught between the pins and the bushings. Their right index finger was partially amputated.

An employee was cleaning the conveyor on a piece of equipment when they slipped and their right hand was pulled into the chain sprocket. The employee's fifth fingertip was amputated.

An employee was throwing blankets onto a blanket folding and stacking machine. A blanket got stuck in the machine and she attempted to remove it when the machine contacted her right little finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.

An employee was preparing to cut rubber stock on a pneumatic cutting machine when their middle and ring fingertips were amputated by the cutting blade.

At about 12:25 a.m. on September 3, 2025, an employee was troubleshooting a malfunction involving a slitter whose arbor was not rotating as expected. The employee was observing the slitter's operations when the arbor completed its cycle and the employee's right index finger was drawn into the slitter's 4-inch, non-rotating cutting blade. The fingertip was amputated.

An employee was operating a rolling rope machine. Tooling fell out of the machine and landed on the employee's foot, breaking bones. The machine was not guarded at the time.

An employee was operating a machine when hot air and water was released. The employee sustained burns to the neck, back, buttocks and leg on the right side.

An employee was operating a slitter machine when the roller bar amputated the tips of their right middle, ring and little fingers.

An employee was readjusting a safety hook to remove hardware from gang forms when his feet slipped. He fell to the ground, resulting in a broken left arm and wrist.

An employee was on a step ladder in a store aisle, making room on shelving for merchandise. She fell from the step ladder to the floor, suffering two fractures in her left leg. She was hospitalized, requiring surgery.

An employee was closing the side cargo door to a company van. The tip of his finger got caught between the door and the door jamb, resulting in a partial amputation.

An employee lost his footing while climbing an inclined ladder. He stumbled down one step and was able to stabilize himself by holding the railing and twisting his body, but he suffered an internal abdominal injury and was hospitalized.

An employee was manipulating dies on a brake press. The press caught and crushed the employee's right forearm, resulting in hospitalization.