Caught in running equipment or machinery, unspecified · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Smith & Wesson Corporation, 19 AVIATION DRIVE, HOULTON, MAINE 04730
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was changing a tool on a milling machine when the milling machine started and the tool started spinning resulting in amputation of the right ring and pinky fingers.
On December 19, 2023, an employee was setting up a copper wire drawing machine when his left ring finger was pinched between a copper wire and a machine part. The employee's finger was partially amputated.
An employee was checking the gusset seal on a machine. He moved to the next cross sealer and the machine activated, causing an amputation to a left-hand finger. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was evaluating a coiling machine to verify that the blade was present inside it. The machine's weld function was activated, and the machine crushed the employee's fingers, resulting in the amputation of the left middle and ring fingers.
An employee was clearing a firearm that had a jam in it. To disassemble the firearm, the employee was required to pull the trigger to remove the slide. During this process, the firearm discharged and the employee suffered a bullet wound to his left hand.
An employee was manually adding soda ash into a tank of heated water while on a mobile ladder. The fluid in the tank began to boil over the sides. The employee went to exit the mobile ladder to avoid the boiling liquid that was beginning to contact their lower legs. The employee lost balance and fell approximately 4 feet to the concrete below. The employee was hospitalized and had surgery for a dislocated left knee and thermal burns to the lower portion of both legs.
An employee was changing the bit on a horizontal gun drill. The wrench slipped while tightening a collet and the employee's left little finger was fractured and partially amputated.
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.
Two employees were working to change a tire on a mobile slasher saw. The slasher weighs around 2,000 pounds and is towed. Employee 2 was lifting the saw while the injured employee was placing a block of wood under the frame for support. The slasher then lowered onto the block and the injured employee's left thumb was crushed between the slasher frame and the wood block, leading to an amputation at the first knuckle.
An employee was using a crane to move a 44-foot, 3,343-pound I-beam. As the beam was moving west, it straightened out (north to south), beginning to swing south toward the northwest corner of a building. The crane then sent the beam southward, directly toward the corner of the building. The beam caught the tips of the employee's left index, middle, and ring fingers against the building. The last joints of the middle and ring fingers were amputated, and the last joint of the index finger was partially crushed.
An employee was standing on a step stool, removing the nuts and bolts from the frame of a solar panel that was being replaced. The employee's cheek made contact with a connector with damaged insulation. The employee was shocked, briefly lost consciousness, and fell to the ground, suffering an injury to the left shoulder.