Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) · Amputations involving bone loss
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Pacific Steel & Recycling, 180 US Highway 14, PHILIP, SOUTH DAKOTA 57567
on — Amputations involving bone loss, affecting the Other finger(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was loading metal "skeletons" onto a flatbed with the assistance of another employee operating a forklift. The forklift operator was adjusting a plate and the injured employee's right ring finger was crushed between metal plates. The injury required medical amputation just above the first knuckle.
Amputation Other finger(s) n.e.c. Forklift, order picker, platform truck powered
Employees were operating a truck-mounted car baler to bale cars at a local wrecking yard. A car slid out of the grapple, falling approximately 8 feet and striking another car. That car then struck the injured employee. The employee sustained crushing injuries and fractures.
An employee was using a hand chisel and hammer to remove the blade from the lower pocket of the shear head. While he was driving the chisel with the hammer, a small piece of metal came off and punctured his arm 3 inches above the elbow.
An employee was working to build an electrical substation. He was cleaning out the inside of a fixed section of a PVC pipe on the end that was furthest from an excavator. The excavator was outside of the trench and more than 25 feet away when it moved a pipe, pinching the employee's right arm between the two pipes. The employee's forearm was fractured.
An employee was anchored to a movable piece of equipment called a "lid" with a self-retracting lifeline harness. An overhead crane lifted the equipment, causing the employee to be pulled by his harness. The employee was pulled off the walkway and swung over the wall of the kiln. His body and head struck the wall. The employee lost consciousness and sustained a laceration to the side of his head that required stitches. The employee also sustained multiple fractured ribs and fractured vertebrae.
An employee was in a scissor lift, preparing to strip formwork from the underside of a concrete deck. As the lift was ascending, the employee's left little finger was pinched between the lift rail and the concrete beam above. The employee was hospitalized, and the soft tissue of their left little fingertip was amputated; the finger's bony tuft was also damaged.
An employee was operating an order picker when his left middle finger was crushed between the lift and storage racking. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
An employee was ascending in a scissor lift when his left thumb was caught between between the railing of the lift and a piece of equipment installed in the ceiling. The employee's thumb tip was amputated.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 423930)
An employee was going into a trailer to mark product for shipment and the trailer pulled away from the dock. The employee fell out of the trailer, contacted the dock plate, and then fell to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a punctured lung, fractured ribs, and contusions.
An employee was checking on a machine outside of the building and removed a cover to clean out a blocked area. His hand was caught by a rotary valve in a dust collection machine. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
A shear operator's hand and fingers were caught in a machine's point of operation. The operator's right index finger was crushed and was partially medically amputated.
An employee was operating a forklift. He parked on a ramp and got off the forklift to retrieve material, at which point the forklift rolled backward and ran over his leg. The leg was broken and he was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.