Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Elringklinger USA, Inc., 4961 Golden Parkway, BUFORD, GEORGIA 30518
on — Fractures, affecting the elbow(s).
Final narrative
An employee was setting up a metal stamping press. While removing the old mold, he lost balance and fell. He stuck his arm out to break the fall and his elbow hit the tool rail. The employee sustained a fractured right elbow, requiring hospitalization and surgery.
On Saturday, 7/8/17, at 1:45 p.m., an employee was operating a press when one of the employee's fingertips was caught in the machine. The employee was hospitalized.
A temporary employee was on top of a machine when the reset button was pushed, which caused the machine to pin the employee's foot. The employee sustained an ankle dislocation and severe laceration to the foot and was hospitalized.
The injured employee (Operator 1) was assisting another employee (Operator 2) in die stamping operations at the press. Operator 1 was standing at the press and to the inside of the light curtains installed at the press, but was not in an area that triggered the light curtains to work (i.e. the light curtains did not extend all the way to the die bed of the press). Operator 2 triggered the press to cycle and Operator 1's right hand was in the press and caught by the upper die. As he stepped back he triggered the light curtains which caused the press to rise back up. The employee's right fingers were fractured.
An employee was pulling on a bale of corrugated cardboard boxes that were on a conveyor. The straps on the bale failed and the employee fell to the floor. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery for a fractured femur and/or hip.
On December 27, 2023, an employee was delivering mail to an apartment complex when their knee gave out and they fell to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a left tibia fracture.
An employee was walking to the inventory cage when her ankle gave out and she fell to the floor. The employee sustained a femur fracture and was hospitalized.
An employee was dislodging a pallet that was stuck when boxes of product fell onto them, causing them to fall to the ground. The employee suffered a fractured femur.
An employee was verifying light curtain function at a load cell tester when their right index finger was amputated by a hydraulic cylinder above the middle knuckle.
An employee was positioning an overhead crane to stand up a skidded coil when the coil swung back. The employee was caught between the swinging coil and another coil sitting on a coil pad, resulting in hospitalization due to a loss of consciousness and a pelvic injury.
An employee was performing general cleanup duties when they collapsed and passed out due to heat exhaustion. They were hospitalized for heat exhaustion, dehydration, and acute renal failure.
A temporary employee was helping a forklift operator by holding metal sheets to steady them as they were placed on a rail for feeding to a stamp machine. The operator lowered the forks with the blanks (weighting approximately 750 pounds). The temporary employee's right index finger was caught between the metal and the feeding rail. The finger was crushed and partially amputated through the bone.
An employee was using a mechanical trim press to trim flash off metal parts. The employee was loading a part to be trimmed when the press cycled and crushed the index fingers on both of their hands. The employee sustained a fingertip amputation. The machine was not guarded at the time.
An employee was helping to lift the grating from a floor draining system when the grating slipped and landed on his hand, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger at the first joint.
During a workshop meeting in a hotel, an employee heard a drilling noise, so he walked outside to see what it was. An explosion occurred (possible gas line) and his face, ear, and hair were burned. He also fell and sustained a pelvic fracture.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.