Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Wolverine Tube, Inc., 2100 Market Street N.E., DECATUR, ALABAMA 35601
on — Fractures , affecting the Other finger(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
A maintenance employee was attaching a piece of foam in the hood of a finishing saw. The hood lowered and the employee's right middle finger was pinched between the hood and the table resulting in a fracture and laceration. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
Hospitalized Other finger(s) n.e.c. Stationary sawing machinery stationary n.e.c.
An employee was operating a die pusher, a device that separated a die from the outer ring so the ring could be immediately reused. The employee's right ring finger was caught between the die spacer and the ring fixture, and the fingertip was partially amputated.
An employee was guiding material from a saw onto a feed-out table when their right thumb was caught between the material and a guide pin, resulting in a partial amputation of 3/8 of the tip of their right thumb.
An employee was applying lubricant to a machine in "auto-mode." The employee climbed over the slide and entered the area where the machine moved the slide traveler, which impacted his right leg and pushed him against the machine. The employee sustained a fractured right femur.
An employee was hand feeding a copper tube into a finning machine with her right hand. The employee rested her left hand on top of the slide gate guard with her fingertips behind the guard. The machine was in the automatic mode. The slide gate activated and amputated her left small fingertip.
A temporary employee turned off a planer machine, opened the housing, and began clearing a jam. The machine's spinning blade caught his right hand and degloved the index finger.
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.
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.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 331318)
An employee was adjusting a stretcher. Their foot went between a 3-inch opening on a press. The employee sustained an open fracture of their lower left leg above the ankle.
An employee was standing at a press machine, removing metal from a die cradle that was stuck. Once the metal was removed, the side die closed on his right wrist and lower forearm, breaking bones in the arm.
An employee was pulling metal using a tail stretcher. He pressed the double palm buttons to start the process when the clamp became stuck. The employee pulled on the metal. His left thumb was inside the clamp when it opened, cutting and amputating the tip of his thumb.
An employee was operating a 2 1/2 inch extruder press when aluminum became jammed in the press. Pressure built up and the piece of aluminum shot into the employee's left index finger, resulting in hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was traveling down the maintenance aisle of a warehouse on a single-pallet front rider jack. The jack malfunctioned, causing the brakes to apply; the employee fell forward onto the concrete warehouse floor. The employee suffered an injury to the left leg and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was operating a metal roller machine to roll a small piece of metal. The employee's right index finger became caught between the metal and the machine, and the fingertip was amputated.
An employee was directing a truck driver to a dump site when the truck's peanut trailer slipped off the kingpin. As the trailer fell, a ladder attached to it lacerated the employee's ear. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was unloading a forklift from a trailer to the ground. The employee was climbing down the ladder of the trailer when their foot slipped through one of the rungs, causing them to fall backward onto the forklift forks. The employee was hospitalized for fractured ribs.