OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #981373
NEW YORK BLOWER CO
LAPORTE, IN·
Event description
EMPLOYEE'S FINGERS AMPUTATED WHEN CAUGHT IN BRAKE PRESS
Investigation abstract
At approximately 10:15 p.m., on May 18, 1989, Employee #1 was operating a Pacifi c 200-ton-hydraulic brake press, New York blower, Serial Number 05282. The press was activated by a foot pedal and did not have two-hand trip buttons. Employee #1 was making a die change and put the bottom die on the press. Employee #1 star ted to put top die on the ram. When Employee #1 slid the die on the ram he put h is hand under the top die to help slide the die into position. When Employee #1 did this he apparently moved his foot and stepped on the foot control. The ram a nd die came down and amputated the four fingers on his left hand at the metacarp al joints. Employee #1 was then taken to the hospital for medical treatment.
Victim
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 25 Male
- Nature of injury
- Amputation (1)
- Part of body
- FINGER(S) (10)
- Accident type
- CAUGHT IN OR BETWEEN (2)
- Source of injury
- MACHINE (26)
- Occupation
- Punching and stamping press machine operators (706)
- Human factor
- SAFETY DEVICES REMOVED/INOPER. (9)
- Environmental factor
- PINCH POINT ACTION (1)
- Task assigned
- Task regularly assigned (1)
Labels are OSHA's own, from the code dictionary published with the accident-investigation file. The raw code is shown beside each one so this page can be reconciled against OSHA's bulk data. OSHA notes that nature of injury, part of body, source of injury and accident type in this file are not coded to the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System, and that the occupation titles are not standardised — so these values are not directly comparable with the OIICS-coded severe injury reports.