Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Altorfer Inc., 3520 Moberly Avenue, HANNIBAL, MISSOURI 63401
on — Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified, affecting the Thumb(s).
Final narrative
An employee was reinstalling a track on a bulldozer. A chain had been used to position the track; with the track in position, the power had been shut off and the track had been secured with a block. As the employee was preparing to correct a slight misalignment using a pry bar, he took hold of the loose end of the chain, when the overlap of the chain released unexpectedly. The employee's thumb was pulled up and caught under the chain, where the thumb tip was compressed and split. The employee suffered an amputation to the thumb.
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 532412)
An excavator bucket was being removed. An employee was pulling a snap ring to remove a pin and lost his grip. The high-tension snap ring recoiled and his left middle fingertip was amputated by the snap ring.
An employee was walking between service bays. He came into contact with a trailer hitch, which was sticking out of the back of a lawn mower, and fell to the concrete floor. He landed on his right side and suffered a broken hip.
An employee was taking a scissor lift off a flatbed trailer. While using the remote operator controls and walking alongside the lift, the wheel of the lift turned in the wrong direction, causing it to strike the employee and roll over his left ankle. The employee was hospitalized with two broken bones in his ankle.
An employee was working on an excavator's tracks. He was swinging a sledgehammer to finish pushing a metal tractor pin into the track links. A hammer-blow caused a piece of the pin to fly off, ricochet, and embed itself in his buttock. He was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was picking up crane pads to put onto their trailer. Their finger got pinched between pads, resulting in an amputation involving the loss of skin.
An employee was readjusting a safety hook to remove hardware from gang forms when his feet slipped. He fell to the ground, resulting in a broken left arm and wrist.
An employee was on a step ladder in a store aisle, making room on shelving for merchandise. She fell from the step ladder to the floor, suffering two fractures in her left leg. She was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was closing the side cargo door to a company van. The tip of his finger got caught between the door and the door jamb, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee lost his footing while climbing an inclined ladder. He stumbled down one step and was able to stabilize himself by holding the railing and twisting his body, but he suffered an internal abdominal injury and was hospitalized.