Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
Final narrative
An employee was emptying trash from a small collection unit (hopper) into a much larger collection unit (roll-off dumpster). This required the employee to stage the hopper up and over the roll-off dumpster with a forklift and then dismount the forklift to manually pull a mechanical lever that releases the hopper vault and dumps the hopper contents into the roll-off. The employee grabbed the releasing handle with his right hand and placed his left-hand fingers on the bottom cross-section of the hopper between the bottom of the forklift fork and the hopper frame. When he released the hopper vault, the hopper frame sprang suddenly and violently upwards until it stopped by the bottom of the fork and created a pinch point. The employee's left-hand ring, middle, and index fingertips were caught and amputated in the pinch point.
AmputationFingertip(s)Tanks, bins, vats-nonconfined space
An employee was operating a forklift and unloading a truck. After the truck was unloaded, the employee got off the forklift and proceeded to adjust the dock plate with a hook tool. The dock plate slipped and the employee went to adjust the plate with their hand when their left middle finger got caught. Their finger was amputated above the first joint.
An employee was rotating a carbide granulator blade when his finger was caught between the blade and a stationary part of the machine. The employee's right middle finger was partially amputated and they suffered an avulsion to the right ring fingertip.
An employee was using a CNC metal lathe machine in manual mode to check that the thread blocking tool made contact with the jaws. As the employee was manually spinning the spindle, his index fingertip was crushed between the spindle's jaws and the grooving insert, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
During a material handling operation, an employee's fingertip was caught under an air conditioning unit as the unit was lowered onto a cart. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
An employee was removing a bolt from a tractor hub when their right index finger was caught between the hub and the frame. The employee's fingertip was crushed and the employee was hospitalized.