Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at TC Industries, Inc., 3703 S. Route 31, CRYSTAL LAKE, ILLINOIS 60012
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was using a hammer to adjust a 4-by-4 square steel block that a metal skid was sitting on. The block slid out from under the skid, and the skid cut the tip of his left middle finger. The fingertip was amputated.
An employee was attempting to utilize a bundle of steel while operating a furnace. An overhead crane deposited five bundles of steel near the furnace and the employee asked the operator to lift up one of the bundles so the employee could use a 4-by-4 to create some separation between the bundles. As the crane lifted the bundle, it came down and crushed the employee's hand, resulting in fractures and swelling.
On September 18, 2017, at approximately 11:55 p.m., employees were re-installing furnace ducts after replacing the duct rollers. The injured employee was working from an unguarded service platform located about 6 to 7 feet above the adjacent floor level when he fell and struck his lower back against a guardrail that was temporarily placed below the service platform. He fractured his vertebrae and was hospitalized.
An employee placed a bundle of steel bar stock into a horizontal band saw when he suffered a severe laceration to the right index finger, requiring surgical amputation.
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 332811)
On October 7, 2025, an employee was pulling a customer load out of post-wash equipment when his left index finger was pinched between the sled and the roller on the charge cart conveyor, resulting in a fingertip amputation between the nail and first joint.
An employee was welding a bearing on a piece of equipment. He was lying on the belt while performing this task. The welding rod contacted the employee or the belt and the employee was shocked by electricity. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was lighting a pilot light that burns off residual oxygen in the purge chamber of a heat-treating furnace. Residual gas and built-up oxygen in the purge chamber caused an explosion, which blew the front of the furnace's door off its track and the hood/exhaust system off its rivets. The employee was knocked down and suffered burns and lacerations to the left side of his face.
A temporary employee was moving a load using a walk-behind powered industrial vehicle (PIV). He backed into a safety bollard and his leg was pinned between the PIV and the bollard, resulting in a crush injury and laceration to the lower leg. The employee was hospitalized for surgery.
An employee was setting up a work piece on the honing machine when his left hand fingers were crushed in a pinch point. The employee sustained an amputation of the distal joint of his ring finger.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.