Crystal Finishing Systems, Inc.

On May 8, 2024, at approximately 2:30 AM, two team members were retrieving a plate that popped out of the head puller/stretcher of an extrusion press and were putting it back into place using a crowbar and a small piece of aluminum. When the plate shifted back into place, the injured employee's right index finger was pinched under the plate and amputated.

An employee was walking when she tripped over a basket sensor and reached for a nearby chain-link fence to brace herself. The employee's right middle finger became caught on the fencing causing an amputation to the finger that resulted in hospitalization and surgery.

An aluminum extrusion became stuck while it was being pulled out onto the table from a press. While trying to free it, an employee was struck by the puller as it retracted back home to the press area. The employee suffered a broken rib, a punctured lung, and abrasions. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.

An employee was a passenger in a golf cart when he fell out of the golf cart as it turned to enter the facility. He tried to gain his footing but fell backwards onto the concrete, hitting his head on the pavement. He suffered a skull fracture and subdermal hematoma.

An employee had been fastening a wooden splash guard to the backside of a cleaning table in the Caustic Room using a power drill. He began to have trouble breathing and felt ill. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee connected a steam line to a hose to clean equipment when the fitting broke loose. They were struck by steam in the left inner thigh, resulting in burns that required hospitalization.

An employee was straining hot water from a pot of rice when the water splashed onto them, resulting in burns to their chest, arms, shoulder, and back.

An employee was making tea when she noticed tea grinds were collecting on the side and water was no longer dripping through the funnel. The employee was checking the funnel when boiling water and tea grinds spilled onto the left side of her body. The employee sustained burns to her neck, back, and arm.

An employee had turned off the ball valve on a waterpipe system and was removing the plug when the coupling system attached to the strainer came apart. Hot water sprayed on his arm and back, resulting in first- and second-degree burns that required surgery.

An employee was using a shovel to remove waste vermiculite from molten zinc. The metal had been placed in a bin and partially hardened. The employee broke through the partially hardened metal; still-molten metal flowed to the employee's steel-toed right boot and entered through the cloth boot tongue. The employee suffered a third-degree burn to the right foot and was hospitalized.

An employee was cutting steel channels from a hanging rack that was being supported by a forklift. When they were finished, the forklift started moving the rack out of the area and a piece of material snagged one of the rack legs, causing the rack to tilt backward. The rack slipped off the forklift and struck the employee on his right side/lower back. He sustained a fractured pelvis and was hospitalized.

An employee was working to remove waste wire between two boat rack/spreader bars (10 feet in length, 8 inches wide, and 16 inches tall, with a center lifting point for a crane hook) in the hanging department. One boat rack was leaning on another boat rack. The employee reached between the boat racks to move the leaning boat rack and remove the waste wire. The leaning boat rack shifted and the employee's left index finger was pinched between the two racks (weighing approximately 600 pounds each). The employee sustained an abrasive amputation of the left index fingertip from the nailbed up.

An employee was performing maintenance on a coating machine and the belt cover guard was removed to repair the belt. The moving belt caught the employee's fingers and pulled them between the belts, injuring three fingers on the employee's left hand. The fingernails were removed from their little and middle fingers. The ring finger was amputated at the first knuckle.

An employee tripped, fell to the floor, and suffered a broken right radius. The employee was hospitalized, requiring surgery.

An employee was stacking steel grating. The grating moved and their right ring finger got caught between grating. The last digit of the ring finger was amputated.

The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.

An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.

A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.

An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.

An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.