Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Southwire Company, LLC, 6771 Highway 78 East, HEFLIN, ALABAMA 36264
on — Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified, affecting the Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s).
Final narrative
An employee was preparing to place extruded wire onto a take-up reel using a "mule rope" affixed to the start end of the wire and had tied the other end of the mule rope to the take-up reel. The employee was using their left hand to hold the mule rope in place on the end of the wire. While the employee was jogging the reel to take the slack out of the mule rope, the mule rope tightened and pinched the employee's left index fingertip. The employee sustained an amputation of the fingertip.
Amputation Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s) Machinery unspecified
On May 20, 2025, an employee was stringing up a drawing machine. He turned and his feet became tangled in the floor mats, causing him to fall and strike his knee on the floor. The employee sustained a fractured left femur.
An employee stopped a machine to exchange a full reel for an empty reel in the take-up. The employee rolled the empty reel into the take-up and placed the tail of the wire into the flange hole of the reel. The employee then began removing slack from the wire. As the wire tightened, it got caught on a bolt on a motor of the take-up. The wire was pulled tight and caught the employee's finger against the reel flange amputating the employee's fingertip.
An employee was lowering a spool on a take-up machine. The spool went up instead of down and pinched his left index finger against a knob. He suffered an amputation at the first joint.
An employee was troubleshooting an oil separator and suffered amputation of their right ring finger below the first joint. The machine was not shut down or locked out at the time.
An employee was changing a heat print ribbon when the print wheel was lowered onto the wire. The rolling wheel crushed the employee's left index finger, causing an open tuft fracture.
Two employees were setting up a mandrel in the spindle of a machine. The mandrel was side-shifted while an employee's hand was on the mast of a powered industrial truck. The employee suffered crushing injuries that resulted in amputations to the middle and ring fingertips.
An employee was working to remove a product blockage from a piece of equipment. The employee was struck by a metal bar near the deck of the pin mixer equipment and sustained blunt force trauma to the torso.
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.