Caught or wedged between objects nonrunning · Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Scrap Metal Services LLC, 3000 W. 139th Street, BLUE ISLAND, ILLINOIS 60406
on — Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified, affecting the Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s).
Final narrative
On June 26, 2024, an employee was using a pry bar to flip an aluminum die. The pry bar slipped out and the die crushed the employee's right ring finger, which resulted in a partial fingertip amputation.
Amputation Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s) Dies, molds, patterns
On December 28, 2024, at 10:23 AM, the injured employee was spotting for the operator of a shear crane while conducting tree trimming/removal operations. The injured employee was standing about 4 feet from the ground on top of scrap steel trusses. After the shear crane cut the tree, it began dragging a large branch which struck the injured employee and knocked him down onto the scrap pile. He sustained four broken ribs on the left side and a left lung contusion. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was directing traffic and was struck from behind in the legs by an I-beam that was knocked over by a crane. Both of the employee's legs were fractured.
An employee was cutting a steel coil using a 5-foot long torch. When he got to the last section of the cut, the coil broke open and struck his left side (elbow and torso). He suffered bruising and a potential internal injury.
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 diagnosing the lack of flow of product to a powder bin. The employee removed the rotary star valve below the bin. While he was reinstalling the valve, his right middle finger was crushed between its shaft and its housing. The finger was partially amputated.
On October 30, 2025, an employee was working to adjust a stackable metal shipping container. As the container dropped into place, it caught the employee's hands in an area between the upper and lower cross-members. The employee suffered a laceration to the left ring finger that required stitches, bruising to the right ring finger, and fractures to the right middle finger that necessitated medical amputation of the fingertip.
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 conducting routine maintenance on a mixer. New lid pins had been installed, and the employee was rotating by hand to ensure they had been installed correctly. The employee's left middle finger was caught between the lid and top of a pin. The momentum from the mixer continued, causing a crushing injury to the finger. The employee underwent a medical amputation from the top knuckle to the tip of the finger.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 331492)
An employee was monitoring a conveyor at the operator station. A piece of metal was fed to a conveyor system and it struck another piece of metal, causing a piece of titanium (1-inch-long and 1/2-inch-wide) to break off and strike the employee in their upper chest below the clavicle. The employee was hospitalized and the embedded piece of metal was surgically removed.
An employee was working by the slag side of a reverb in the furnace department. They returned home after the end of their shift and began feeling muscle cramps, resulting in hospitalization due to dehydration.
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On May 14, 2025, an employee was sitting cross-legged and removing a pneumatic rail car vibrator from its bracket to empty the next pocket in the rail car. When the employee went to set the vibrator down, he placed it on a hammer that was sitting in front of him and the vibrator teetered to the side, catching his little finger. The employee sustained an amputated fingertip at the first knuckle.
An employee was opening a railcar compartment using a wrench when the tool broke and the employee slipped and fell to the same level. The employee sustained a fractured lower right leg.
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.