Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Pilkington North America Inc, 300 20th Avenue, OTTAWA, ILLINOIS 61350
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
Two employees were dumping obsolete glass inventory. They were working with a wooden crate of glass, held together by bands, on a fork truck. While one employee was cutting the bands, the release of tension caused the package to come down on the other employee's little finger, amputating the fingertip.
On March 1, 2025, an employee was assisting with cleaning up cullet on the line when they tripped over the portable cullet plow and fell to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to their left tibia and fibula.
An employee was sweeping the floor next to a stack of nested empty racks when the racks fell over and struck the employee. The employee sustained injuries to the head, neck, and lower back.
On December 18, 2018, an employee was using a cart to transfer a glass making device called a "baby cooler." The cart tipped over and the baby cooler fell off onto the employee's left leg fracturing the lower leg.
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 327211)
On August 16, 2025, at approximately 11:15 AM, an employee entered the "pack cell" at a glass fabrication line to unjam glass product from the "pop up". The employee was removing glass product when residual pneumatic energy completed cycling the "pop up". The employee's fingers became caught in the pinch point created between the "pop up" and the conveyor. The employee sustained lacerations and tendon damage to their left index, middle, and ring fingers.
On July 5, 2025, an employee was working to lubricate the chain on an autoclave machine in the coating factory. Their left index finger was caught in the machine resulting in surgical amputation at the first joint. The machine was guarded at the time, but was not locked out/tagged out.
An employee was walking through a facility after returning from break when a forklift ran over their left foot. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to their foot and ankle that required surgery.
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.