Contact incidents unspecified · Amputations involving bone loss
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Burgmeier's Hauling, Inc., 1356 Old 6th Avenue Road, ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA 16603
on — Amputations involving bone loss, affecting the Thumb(s).
Final narrative
An employee was hooking a dumpster onto the lift devices located on their garbage truck when their left hand got caught between the dumpster and the truck, resulting in crush injuries and a thumb amputation.
Employee was attempting to dislodge a dumpster that was frozen to the ground. When the dumpster broke free, it rolled and pinched the employee's left pinky between the dumpster and a parked truck.
A crew was installing drilled micropiles alongside an outdoor covered deck foundation. The injured employee was working the front of the drill when a loose section of casing dropped onto the tip of a rig wrench and pulled the wrench down to an embedded casing. The employee's left little finger was caught between the rig wrench and the embedded casing and was amputated above the top knuckle.
An employee was checking a pole-type transformer tank for leaks. A hydraulic clamping device was lowered onto his right thumb and crushed it against the sharp edge of the bottom of the tank. He suffered a partial transphalangeal amputation to the thumb.
An employee had been cleaning the work area. While lifting a saw, the employee's index finger was lacerated by the saw blade. A tendon was cut and required surgery.
An employee was installing a hydraulic extension cylinder in a tow truck when their leg was caught between the cylinder and the truck frame. The employee was hospitalized with a broken tibia, which required surgery.
An employee was sorting sucker rods. His right hand was caught in the area where the rod hits up against the frame and his index fingertip was amputated just below the nail.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 562212)
A driver had backed up a rear load truck to a dumpster. The winch cable was bound, and another employee went to use the controls to put slack in the line. The cable tightened instead of loosening while the driver was holding it, and it caught his hand against the truck and crushed his thumb. The thumb was fractured and lacerated; he was hospitalized, requiring surgery. The incident took place during a training activity.
An employee was pulling into a customer's parking lot to pick up a roll-off container when the vehicle ran over the median curb. The vehicle then veered to the left, striking the side curb and the retaining wall. The employee sustained injuries to his neck and spine, as well as a damaged artery, a head laceration, and fractured ribs.
An employee was replacing the bracing arm of a baler. The replacement part (weighing an estimated 500 pounds) was moved into place using a truck-mounted crane with a lifting strap attached to the designated pick point. The employee then used his right hand to stabilize/align the part. The part shifted, crushing his right index finger against the mounting pin hole. The employee's finger was amputated above the first knuckle.
An employee was moving a mower with a tractor bucket when the bucket slipped and struck another employee on the hand. The injured employee sustained a partial amputation of their left little finger.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.