Defense Commissary Agency Ellsworth Air Force Base
Struck against moving part of machinery or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Defense Commissary Agency Ellsworth Air Force Base, 2649 LeMay Boulevard, ELLSWORTH AFB, SOUTH DAKOTA 57706
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was cutting meat using a bone saw. The employee went to shut off the saw when his hand slipped and his left middle and ring fingers were lacerated and amputated.
An employee was operating a strip saw. As the employee shut off the saw, their right index and middle fingertips were amputated by the blade before it came to a complete stop.
An employee was using a table saw to cut a piece of wood for wall framing. The wood jumped, causing the employee's hand to move toward the saw, amputating their left index finger and causing a laceration on their hand.
An employee was operating a trim saw. While trying to free a jammed board she had just cut, she came into contact with the running saw blade, which amputated her right thumb.
An employee was activating the sprinkler system at a sports complex following recent maintenance to repair leaky pumps. When the system was activated, a section of newly installed 3-inch schedule 80 PVC pipe struck the employee, who lost consciousness. The employee suffered a broken jaw and a concussion.
An employee was ascending a flight of stairs after exiting their vehicle in an adjacent employee parking lot. The employee stepped to the right to avoid another employee on the left who was descending the stairs. The employee lost their balance and fell on the stairs. They were hospitalized with a laceration/abrasion to their chin, a fractured left humerus, and bruising to their left knee.
At about 3:10 p.m. on October 3, 2025, an employee was inspecting a car. Two dogs that had been in another car were leashed and tethered to a bollard. As the employee inspected the first car along with a narcotics detection dog, one of the other dogs came loose and attacked the narcotics dog. The employee was separating the dogs when the other dog bit his left ring finger. The last joint of the finger was injured and part of it was bitten off.
An employee was climbing a fixed ladder to perform maintenance in an attic. While unlocking the attic entry, the employee fell from the ladder more than 10 feet to the concrete below. The employee suffered a fractured hip, pelvis, tail bone, arm, and elbow, resulting in hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.