Accident: 125965731 - Toe Crushed When Run Over, Later Amputated

At approximately 11:15 p.m. on November 8, 2000, Employee #1 was unloading pallets and containers from a Boeing 767 when her big toe was run over by an air cargo pallet. She was transported to Arrowhead Medical Center in Colton, where her toe had to be surgically amputated after efforts to save it failed. She was hospitalized between two and three weeks.

toe, amputated, off loading, towmotor, run over, crushed, mech mat handling, aircraft

Accident: 170002034 - Employees Fingers And Thumb Amputated In Meat Mixer

Employee #1, a 19-year-old meat grinder's helper, was emptying meat from the grinder/mixer into bins. The meat was fed into the grinder at the top and, once ground, went into the mixer. The mixer housed two augers that rotated clockwise at 3 rpm along an inside groove 1 1/4 in. from the outside lip of the chute from which spices could be added. Part of Employee #1's normal duties was to prevent meat from spilling onto the floor as it was dumped through the 44 in. wide mixer doors into the two bins, each 30 in. high by 28 in. square at the mouth. Employee #1 was using one hand to span the width of the upper part of either side of the door to guide the meat into the two bins. For some reason, Employee #1 turned his head away while his right arm was raised. When he pulled his arm away from the mixer, he discovered that all his fingers and his thumb had been amputated. He called for help to the lead grinder, who was approximately 18 ft away. The mixer was not guarded, and normal procedure called for one of the augers to be shut off while the other rotated the meat from that side of the mixer into one of the bins.

meat blending mach, mixer, inattention, unguarded, work rules, amputated, finger, thumb

Accident: 119828788 - Hand Amputated In Press

On September 7, 2000, Employee #1, a 19-year-old laborer, was manually feeding corrugated cardboard into an Akebono printing press, model manufacturer's #180.185.1, serial #185-1975-2. The large, roller-type press consisted of a coupled slotter, a slat feeder, a sheet inverter, and a stacker. While feeding in the cardboard, Employee #1 suffered a crushing injury to his right hand that subsequently resulted in its amputation. He had been employed by the company, which printed designs and lettering on unassembled corrugated cardboard boxes, for approximately three months prior to the accident. Some of the unprinted boxes had been delivered slightly warped. This was a common occurrence, and the employees used sticks with balls on the ends of them to safely guide the bent cardboard sheets into the rollers of the press. Employee #1 claimed that he had not received any training, verbal or written, other than that from his coworkers, who had instructed him to use his hands to guide the sheets. He also said that the foreman on duty saw him working in this manner but said nothing.

press, printing press, crushed, hand, amputated, untrained, unguarded, work rules, nip point, extension handle

Accident: 14228621 - Arm Amputated In Fiber Rewind Roller

Employee #1 was reattaching a loose piece of fiber that had come off a moving rewind roll when his glove became caught in the machine. His arm was pulled into the roll and amputated.

amputated, arm, caught by, work rules, roller--mach/part, nip point, glove, clothing

Accident: 170205157 - Fingertip Amputated By Falling Pipe Casing

At approximately 11:36 a.m. on August 8, 2000, Employee #1 was working as a laborer/grout plant operator for Northwest Cascade, Inc. He was assigned by his foreman to set an 8 ft piece of 5 in. casing inside a 7 5/8 in. micropile, using #9 wire and a 2-by-4 to hold the pipe. As Employee #1 was pulling the pipe up and down, the casing slipped past the coupler and slammed down, pinching his finger between the wire and the 2-by-4. The ring finger on his right hand was amputated at the lower end of the fingernail. Employee #1 was transported to Davies Hospital for treatment.

construction, amputated, falling object, slip, unsecured, finger, caught between, struck by

Accident: 120331954 - Finger Amputated In Ribbon Mixer

On July 13, 2000, Employee #1, of Senor Felix Gourmet Mexican Food, Inc., was using a horizontal mixer to make salsa. There was no visible model or serial number on the mixer unit itself; however, according to the quality assurance manager the make was Reitz S.S. ribbon blender, model #RS 24-20, serial #10162. Employee #1 was standing in front of the discharge gate. After emptying the salsa from the mixer into the bin, he was reaching with his left hand to press the STOP button of the mixer when he slipped. As he slipped, his right hand entered the discharge gate, amputating his thumb and index finger. The plant manager took him first to Foothill Medical Center, then to Intercommunity Hospital, and finally to the Western Hand Center. According to Employee #1 and coworkers, the front guard on the discharge gate was not in place at the time of the accident. During a visit by OSHA on July 17, 2000, the floor of the salsa mixing area was wet. The physical, environmental, and human factors that contributed to this accident were (1) failure to have in place the guard for the discharge gates; (2) the presence of wet, slippery floors; and (3) failure to identify during the quarterly inspection that the guard was missing. At the time of the accident, Employee #1 had been working as a food preparer for the employer for four months.

mixer, rotating knife, finger, slip, slippery surface, housekeeping, amputated, work rules, unguarded, struck against

Accident: 170205116 - Fingertip Amputated In Coffee Grinder o.

At approximately 9:37 a.m. on July 6, 2000, Employee #1, of Dixon Coffee & Roasting Company, was making an espresso drink for a customer when she noticed that there was no espresso in the machine and so switched on the grinder to make some more. The grinder did not start immediately and she lifted the lid to look inside. Employee #1 then stuck her right index finger into the area where the coffee comes out of the hopper. It struck the rotating grinder blade and was amputated at the first knuckle. She was transported to the California Pacific Medical Facility, where she was treated and released. This was Employee #1's third day on the job as counter help. At the time of the accident, she was not under pressure or in a rush to perform her duties. No accident-related violations were found in connection with this incident.

amputated, rotating knife, work rules, inexperience, struck against, finger, grinder

Accident: 119948487 - Fingertip Amputated In Meat Grinder

At approximately 5:40 a.m. on June 7, 2000, Employee #1 was trying to clean or clear a product jam from the discharge port of a Butcher Boy meat grinder. In the process, he amputated a portion of the first digit of his left index finger. Employee #1 was transported by private automobile to Kaiser Permanente Hospital, where he was treated and released.

amputated, finger, jammed, meat grinder, struck against, lockout, rotating knife, grinder, work rules

Accident: 170572648 - Killed When Caught In Machine Rolls

Employee #1 began his shift at 8:00 p.m. and went on break just before 10 p.m. Coworkers returning to their work areas observed smoke in the air and went toward the mill area, where they saw the Employee #1's shoe and part of his body caught in the rolls. They hit the safety switch and stopped the machine. Apparently, Employee #1 had cut the rubber off the bottom rolls to toss it into the upper rolls when he became entangled with the rubber and was pulled into the top rolls. Employee #1 was killed.

roller--mach/part, caught between, amputated, entangled

Accident: 170127658 - Fingertip Amputated Between Railings

Employee #1 was removing the railing from on top of an evaporator shell. He had a chain sling attached to two railings so that he could lift and remove them, but one railing was stuck in its socket. Employee #1 shook the stuck railing and, when it came loose, the other railing lifted up as well. His right little finger became caught between the two railings, amputating the tip.

amputated, caught between, finger, stuck, guardrail, work rules

Accident: 125631283 - Fingers Injured When Hand Caught In Mixer

On March 6, 2000, Employee #1 was operating a #7 dough mixer when he suffered partial amputation of his right little finger and deep lacerations to his ring finger. He was hospitalized for treatment.

mixer, hand, caught by, finger, laceration, amputated

Accident: 14222301 - Killed When Caught In Auger

At approximately 8:20 a.m. on March 13, 2000, Employee #1 and coworkers were digging post holes to install a security fence on his employer's property. They were using a Massey-Ferguson #231 tractor with an attached post hole digger (auger). Employee #1 was walking around to apply pressure to the guide on the auger when his left pant leg and shirt became entangled in the auger's driver shaft. His left leg was twisted and amputated below the knee. Employee #1 became caught in and was thrashed around the auger numerous times, his head apparently striking the drive line of the auger. He was killed. The auger did not have any guards or shields to protect workers from becoming caught.

construction, tractor, auger, unguarded, clothing, entangled, drive shaft, amputated, head, rotating shaft

Accident: 126069194 - Finger Amputated In Bacon Press

At approximately 9:45 a.m. on March 10, 2000, Employee #1, of Kruse and Son, Inc., was in the packaging room, cleaning the hydraulic cylinder shaft of a Cashin Systems Dan-D-Shaper bacon press, model 5050, serial #1003. This shaft moved the tray that ejected the product from the machine; the shaft support was approximately 3 ft 3 in. high. The press was running and had just ejected some bacon when Employee #1 began to wipe the cylinder shaft. The cylinder retracted and the shaft support caught his right index finger and pulled it toward the press. His finger became caught between the shaft support and press frame and was amputated when the cycle completed. Employee #1 was transported to Irwindale Industrial Clinic where he was treated and released the same day. He had not stopped the press, de-energized or disengaged the power source, or attempted to use an extension tool to clean the cylinder.

finger, amputated, hydraulic cylinder, press, cleaning, caught by, work rules, lockout

Accident: 170010094 - Leg Severed By Lowboy Trailer

Employee #1, a flagger for Kiewit Construction, was struck by a lowboy trailer that an employee of another company had just loaded with a backhoe. Her leg was amputated in the accident. The driver had not set the brake, nor chocked the wheels, of the lowboy.

trailer, struck by, unmanned, work rules, vehicle, leg, amputated, flagman, brake, chock