Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Ernest Maier Inc., 30234 Millsboro Highway, MILLSBORO, DELAWARE 19966
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was manually making special-sized concrete lintels. He was sliding a C-channel lintel mold down the table he was working on. (The C-channel was 8-inches tall by 20-feet long and weighed about 300 pounds.) The C-channel slipped, tilted, and pinched his left ring fingertip, causing an amputation.
An employee was clearing a lintel machine. The machine moved and trapped the tip of the employee's right middle finger, causing an amputation to the fingertip.
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 327331)
On September 30, 2025, an employee was applying production labels to a splintered piece of pallet on a conveyor. Their right middle finger was caught as the split line exit conveyor moved forward, resulting in an amputation.
An employee was operating a pattern block roller machine. The employee was pinned (at the mid- to upper torso) between the pusher bar and the assembly platform. The employee suffered broken ribs.
Employees were chipping concrete/brick to separate a building for demolition when the wall collapsed and debris fell onto the employees, resulting in hospitalization of two employees. One employee sustained a fractured left femur and a head injury, and the other sustained a severe head injury.
A flagger was directing traffic flow in a highway work zone. They were standing approximately 1.5 feet behind the shoulder's demarcating line, next to and slightly behind a traffic drum. As they were directing traffic into and out of the driveway of a parking lot, a car attempted to get around a truck and struck the traffic drum, which subsequently struck the employee, who was thrown 15 feet and landed on top of concrete aggregate. The employee suffered pelvic and rib fractures, T10 and L3 vertebra fractures, and internal bleeding.
An employee was troubleshooting a power washer in the field. Because there might have been water in its fuel, he brought it back to the shop and drained about a gallon of fuel from the tank into a plastic container. Some of the fuel spilled onto the floor and ignited. The employee was stomping out the fire when he lost his balance and tripped into a stool, which caused the plastic container to spill more fuel onto the fire. The employee's pants and shirt caught on fire, and he fell, abrading his knee while trying to get through the flames. As well as the knee abrasion, he suffered burns to the left leg and left lower quadrant of the torso. He was hospitalized.
An employee was backing up a tram (towing powered industrial equipment) to connect it to a trash bin. The employee's left forearm/wrist was caught and crushed between the tram and the bin. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee went to lift a carton and tripped on a different carton that was on the floor. She fell on the floor in the backroom and sustained a fractured right hip, and abrasions to her arm and knee. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.