Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Southwire Company, LLC, 401 Fertilla Street, CARROLLTON, GEORGIA 30117
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee stopped a machine to exchange a full reel for an empty reel in the take-up. The employee rolled the empty reel into the take-up and placed the tail of the wire into the flange hole of the reel. The employee then began removing slack from the wire. As the wire tightened, it got caught on a bolt on a motor of the take-up. The wire was pulled tight and caught the employee's finger against the reel flange amputating the employee's fingertip.
On May 20, 2025, an employee was stringing up a drawing machine. He turned and his feet became tangled in the floor mats, causing him to fall and strike his knee on the floor. The employee sustained a fractured left femur.
An employee was preparing to place extruded wire onto a take-up reel using a "mule rope" affixed to the start end of the wire and had tied the other end of the mule rope to the take-up reel. The employee was using their left hand to hold the mule rope in place on the end of the wire. While the employee was jogging the reel to take the slack out of the mule rope, the mule rope tightened and pinched the employee's left index fingertip. The employee sustained an amputation of the fingertip.
An employee was lowering a spool on a take-up machine. The spool went up instead of down and pinched his left index finger against a knob. He suffered an amputation at the first joint.
An employee was troubleshooting an oil separator and suffered amputation of their right ring finger below the first joint. The machine was not shut down or locked out at the time.
An employee was changing a heat print ribbon when the print wheel was lowered onto the wire. The rolling wheel crushed the employee's left index finger, causing an open tuft fracture.
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 332618)
An employee was driving a powered industrial truck (PIT) carrying a nesting sheave on the back counterweight of the PIT. He was holding the sheave when the PIT struck a pothole in the floor, causing the sheave to roll forward and crush his right index fingertip against the back of the PIT seat frame. The employee's fingertip was amputated, requiring hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was building slings. They were placing wire rope in a pneumatic vise when their right index finger was caught between the vise and the wire rope, resulting in a fracture that required hospitalization and surgery.
At about 7:15 a.m. on August 28, 2025, an employee was using a construction compactor to stabilize the dirt of a dam that had just been built. The dirt gave way underneath the compactor, which tipped on its left side. The employee fell out and was crushed and pinned between the compactor and the dirt. He was hospitalized, having suffered a broken sternum and broken ribs on both sides, as well as a laceration to the left leg by the ankle joint.
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.