Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at D.L. Gasser Construction, Inc., Greenwood Quarry, HILLSBORO, WISCONSIN 54634
on — Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified, affecting the Thumb(s).
Final narrative
An employee was spotting the dust auger as it was lowered onto the trailer so that it would not contact a piece of equipment already on the trailer and pinch electrical cords. As the auger was being moved into place horizontally, his thumb was caught between two brackets, one on the auger and one on a piece of equipment already on the trailer. The employee sustained a partial amputation to the left 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 423320)
An employee was shoveling excess material (spillage) that consisted of dry mix, sand, aggregate and cement. As he was shoveling, some material blew back in his face and around his safety glasses. He got a piece of metal in his left eye that required surgery. The employee was hospitalized.
A temporary employee was bending rebar on a bending table (machine) when his right little finger got caught in the rollers. The employee sustained an amputation down to the first knuckle below the fingernail.
At 10:00 a.m., an employee was preparing to cut lumber for an A-frame structure using a compound miter saw when the saw kicked back and contacted his left hand. The employee sustained complete amputation of the thumb and a partial amputation of the index finger.
An employee was unloading a bundle of quartz slabs from a truck bed using a forklift and lifting slings. The employee was standing on the truck bed to secure the slings to the bundle when one of the two A-frames supporting the bundle fell over. The employee jumped off the truck bed to avoid being hit, causing them to strike the ground and sustain fractures to their left hip, femur, and elbow.
An employee was next to a conveyor. The employee's middle finger was pinched between a steel board and a concrete block that were moving along the conveyor. The employee suffered an amputation to the fingertip.
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.