Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at The Pneufast Co., 1275 Barclay Boulevard, BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS 60089
on — Soreness, pain, hurt-nonspecified injury, affecting the eye(s).
Final narrative
An employee was operating a plastic collator when they were struck in the eye by a nail that ricocheted from the machine.
An employee was operating a cleaning line. They attempted to prop up a barrel with a steel rod after it did not fall into place for cleaning. The employee was struck by the rod, resulting in a laceration to the top of their head.
An employee was tossing a damaged toilet into a compactor. The toilet bounced off the compactor and lacerated the employee's right wrist, cutting an artery and tendon.
An employee was operating a hydraulic jack to bend a frame when the jack came loose and struck the employee. They were hospitalized for a spleen injury.
A truck had been towed into the shop with a flat tire and a blown airbag. An employee checked the tire for damage and was airing the tire. The employee was installing the valve core when the bead slipped off the rim. Air escaped, and the aluminum wheel struck the employee's head and face. The employee became unresponsive and was bleeding.
On December 14, 2023, at 8:40 p.m., three employees were inspecting milling machines for startup. A few of the sleeves on the mill drum needed to be changed out. The injured employee was trying to input a sleeve on the mill drum using a hammer. The hammer hit the edge of the drum, which caused a metal piece to splinter off and strike the employee's cheek just below the left eye. The metal splinter embedded in the back of their eye socket, resulting in pain, swelling, and bleeding that required hospitalization.
An employee was pushing a line of carts into a vestibule when the door cable snapped and struck his right ankle. The employee suffered a fracture that required surgery and hospitalization.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 331222)
An employee was changing a section of pipe on a sulfuric acid tank when the pipe broke and acid splashed onto the left side of the employee's body, resulting in chemical burns to their left shoulder, the back of his arm, and his leg.
On August 1, 2025, at approximately 5:05 AM, an employee was applying a label to a spool of product on a crane when the employee s arm became caught between two points of the crane. The employee was hospitalized with a degloving/avulsion injury to their right arm.
An employee was making an adjustment to a machine when his finger got caught in the machine. He sustained a partial amputation to the fifth finger on his left hand.
An employee was working on a wire drawing machine when three fingers on their right hand were caught between the rolls with the wire intact. The employee sustained an amputation to the middle and ring fingers and was hospitalized.
An employee was working at a threader machine. A spindle caught her sweatshirt. She was pulled into the machine, which pulled off her hooded sweatshirt and pulled in her hair. She suffered a scalping and was hospitalized.
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.