Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Washington Penn Plastic - Wapokenta, 14097 Cemetery Road, WAPAKONETA, OHIO 45895
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
On April 23, 2022, at 5:30 a.m., an employee and a co-worker were removing and replacing a brass ring around a slide plate screen changer after hot molten plastic began leaking around the screen changer unit. During the process, the slide plate cylinder closed on the employee's left hand, resulting in an amputation of their thumb and surgery for additional hand injuries.
HospitalizedAmputationFinger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c.Metal, woodworking, and special material machinery, unspecified
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 325991)
An employee was working to unclog a feeder that feeds raw material into an extruder to make plastic/polymer. The slide gate closed on his right hand, amputating three fingers between the first and second knuckles as well as cutting the thumb tip.
An employee was operating an overhead crane and using a hoist to lower a metal tipper bin. The tipper lowered onto their right hand, crushing their right thumb and resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was unclogging a granulator when the rotor pulled his fingers in. His left index, middle, and ring fingers, as well as his right thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers were amputated. The employee was hospitalized. The machine was not guarded at the time.
On March 3, 2025, two employees were working on a blender. The injured employee was removing contaminated pellets from the blender. Another employee went to elevate a tilter that was feeding the blender when the blender auger activated and crushed the injured employee's left leg. The employee's leg was medically amputated 4" - 6" below the knee. The machine was guarded at the time.
An employee was performing maintenance on a pelletizer. When they rotated the drum, their left index finger became caught between the pelletizer blades and the bed, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was working to deliver mail to an apartment building. She was waiting for a customer to move, to obtain clearance to the mailboxes. The door swung inward and closed on her right little finger. The top half of her finger was surgically amputated.
An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.
On October 30, 2025, an employee was working to adjust a stackable metal shipping container. As the container dropped into place, it caught the employee's hands in an area between the upper and lower cross-members. The employee suffered a laceration to the left ring finger that required stitches, bruising to the right ring finger, and fractures to the right middle finger that necessitated medical amputation of the fingertip.
An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.
An employee was setting up communication equipment for a meeting. They were walking and tripped over a speaker on the ground. The employee sustained a leg injury.