Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Pacific Gold Marketing, Inc., Edwards Air Force Base, EDWARDS AFB, CALIFORNIA 93524
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was using an industrial drill, drilling holes for footings. The kelly cable drive was not retracting properly on the machine's drum, so the employee tried to disconnect the cable to re-spool the drum. He backed out the threaded pin from the kelly drive clevis that was holding the cable drive end. As he tried to push the pin through, his right middle finger was pinched in the clevis and cable. The finger was amputated at the first joint.
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 237990)
A crew was installing drilled micropiles alongside an outdoor covered deck foundation. The injured employee was working the front of the drill when a loose section of casing dropped onto the tip of a rig wrench and pulled the wrench down to an embedded casing. The employee's left little finger was caught between the rig wrench and the embedded casing and was amputated above the top knuckle.
An employee was standing on an extension ladder, using a torquing tool to remove bolts that secured blades to a rotor. When the torquing tool activated, its reaction arm came around and pinched the employee's right middle finger against a lifting eye. His fingertip was amputated.
Employees were securing the fuel line of an outboard motor in preparation for removing the motor from a small vessel located in the equipment yard. A gasoline-related fire occurred and one employee sustained burns to both hands and forearms.
A marine diver/construction worker was working underwater, using a hydraulic dredge to clear sediment away from the base of a dam. The dredge's suction nozzle began migrating toward him, and then pulled in his right hand and forearm. He sustained compartment syndrome in the hand and forearm.
An employee was standing on a sheet of -inch by 4-foot by 8-foot plywood on top of a rebar mat, supervising his crew. As he was moving to alert the crew to an incoming overhead load, he stepped off the plywood and his left foot slipped through the rebar mat and landed on the rebar mat below. His left ankle was broken and dislocated.
The injured employee was assisting a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enforcement operation. During an apprehension, officers returned fire at a subject and struck the employee with a bullet. The employee sustained a gunshot wound to their right hand.
The injured employee was assisting in the disassembly phase after a radar array had been lowered and secured. The crew began removing load bearing pins from an overhead crane to free the radome. A load bearing pin was stuck. The injured employee went to remove the pin manually as a second team member applied pressure from the opposite side. The pin unexpectedly released and struck the injured employee s right thumb, resulting in partial amputation of the distal phalanx including an open distal phalanx fracture and nail bed laceration.
At about 3:10 p.m. on October 3, 2025, an employee was inspecting a car. Two dogs that had been in another car were leashed and tethered to a bollard. As the employee inspected the first car along with a narcotics detection dog, one of the other dogs came loose and attacked the narcotics dog. The employee was separating the dogs when the other dog bit his left ring finger. The last joint of the finger was injured and part of it was bitten off.
An employee was preparing a bundle of green onions for chopping. While holding the bundle in his left hand, he made his first cut using a 9-inch kitchen knife held in his right hand. The knife contacted the tip of his left thumb, resulting in an amputation of approximately 0.5 inches of the thumb that required hospitalization.