Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Golden Aluminum, Inc., 1405 14th St, FORT LUPTON, COLORADO 80621
on — Fractures , affecting the Forearm(s).
Final narrative
An employee was troubleshooting a caster machine. While removing a cap cover, the catch pan moved up and caught his right arm against the caster blocks. He suffered lacerations and an open break of the ulna. He was hospitalized.
An employee was draining a filter bowl of molten metal during a cast shutdown when the molten metal spilled from the bowl onto the employee's legs, resulting in burns to the backside of his legs.
An employee's left hand was caught between a mill's spindle shaft and an input roller when the spindle shaft activated, resulting in a partial amputation of their index finger at the last joint, as well as crush injuries to their middle finger and thumb.
An employee was working on the setup of an aluminum caster machine. The machine, which is supposed to cycle once at a time, must be cycled in order to gauge the machine. The machine cycled once and the employee was attempting to gauge it when the machine cycled again, closing down on his fingers. All fingers besides the thumbs were crushed on both hands.
An employee was wiping shavings from the blade of a chopper machine when the chopper amputated his pinky finger and the tip of his ring finger. The machine was active at the time of the incident.
A temporary employee turned off a planer machine, opened the housing, and began clearing a jam. The machine's spinning blade caught his right hand and degloved the index finger.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.
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.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 331315)
A maintenance technician was investigating a tool issue. He was pressing the tool clamp/unclamp button with his right hand when his hand slipped off the button, causing the spindle to clamp on his distal left index finger, resulting in amputation.
An employee had just fixed a loose aluminum coil on a rack while raised about 11 feet into the air on a forklift. While he was being lowered, he fell from the forks to the floor, suffering two fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and a fractured cervical vertebra. He was hospitalized.
At 11:27 a.m. on March 15, 2025, an employee was transferring film to start a new roll when the winder shaft failed to seat properly in its cradle. The employee was knocking the unseated shaft down when his right thumb was caught. The employee sustained an amputation to right thumb.
Two employees were riding in a utility terrain vehicle down a loose gravel path. The vehicle's front wheel dug into the gravel, and it rolled over onto its side. The injured employee struck the interior of the vehicle (including the steering wheel) before landing on the driver. The injured employee suffered a 6-inch head laceration, a broken collarbone, and six broken ribs.
An employee was placing a secure device on a large steel coil. The employee was pulling on a manual crimping tool when it slipped, and the sudden release caused him to stumble backward, fall into the opening between the coil saddles and down into a pit below. The employee sustained fractured ribs, a laceration to the head, and left leg/knee pain.
An employee was delivering materials. He was doing his pre-delivery inspection on the roof of the jobsite (a warehouse) when he fell through a plexiglass skylight. He landed on his feet on the concrete floor 14 feet below. The employee sustained fractures to his spine, left ulnar/radius, and right heel. The employee required surgery.
An employee was removing packaging from a roll of printing substrate. The blade of their utility knife got stuck. The employee used both hands to free the knife and the blade partially amputated their left little fingertip.
A concrete batch plant operator was assisting with clearing spoil piles using a skid steer. The skid steer backed into a stationary screen plant. The employee's left little finger was crushed between the controls of the skid steer and the screen plant, resulting in a fracture and laceration. The employee's finger was surgically amputated.
An employee was standing on an extension ladder, using a torquing tool to remove bolts that secured blades to a rotor. When the torquing tool activated, its reaction arm came around and pinched the employee's right middle finger against a lifting eye. His fingertip was amputated.