Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Waupaca Foundry, Inc., 406 N. Division St., WAUPACA, WISCONSIN 54981
on — Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified, affecting the Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s).
Final narrative
On March 14, 2025, in the top pick and sort area of the finishing department, an employee was sorting castings on an elevated work platform. They were working with a casting or piece of gating when their right little finger got pinched between the actuator plow and the casting or gating. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
Amputation Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s) Machinery unspecified
An employee was moving a part from a shaker table to a grinder when their left ring finger was caught between the part and the rotating grinder wheel resulting in amputation of the finger.
An employee was removing slag from the walls of a receiver with a chipping hammer. The employee was caught between a hot metal carrier ladle and chisel bits and suffered a crushing injury to the torso that resulted in a lacerated liver. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was cleaning out a broaching machine at the end of a shift. The machine actuated, causing amputations to the employee's index finger (to the first knuckle) and ring finger (just above the second knuckle).
On November 17, 2020, an employee was flipping the gating tree and pour cup on the line when the pour cup fell backward and crushed her left index finger on the shaker table resulting in a partial amputation.
On August 1, 2020, a foundry employee was cleaning a sand muller prior to changing out the liners. The employee stepped on the wheel when in the muller, slipped, and fell causing the wheel to turn. His leg was caught in the 1 1/2-inch gap between the wheel and the wall of the muller. He was hospitalized, suffering from a muscle injury.
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 331511)
An employee was realigning two halves of a core box on a core-making machine. Pneumatic pressure released, causing the core box to close on the employee's right thumb. The thumb tip was amputated between the nail and the knuckle.
An employee was performing maintenance/electrical work inside a substation, and used a ladder to access the top of a panel box. The employee fell 8-9 feet from the top of the panel box to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to their ribs and a shoulder injury.
An employee's hand was caught in a pinch point in the area of a conveyor for a flask running out of a foundry molding machine. The employee's ring finger was crushed and partially amputated at the base.
An employee noticed a block was out of place under the weighted mold frame. The employee used another block to push the block out and replace it. When the block came out, the frame came down on his right ring and little fingers. The employee sustained a fracture and partial amputation to the ring fingertip.
An employee was using a fork truck to move a tub containing molten iron that had been drained from the cupula. The tub tipped over and the molten metal came in contact with water. This caused the molten iron to splash back and burn the employee's upper torso.
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.
An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.