Category: Amputation|Companies by Name|Lockout/Tagout|Work Injury

The following continues with details of Texas workplace injuries from a serious on-the-job injury report prepared by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Each of the injuries occurred as a result of getting caught in running equipment during maintenance or cleaning or, at least, not during regular operation. It is implied that there allegedly should have been a lockout/tagout procedure in place that would have prevented the injuries:

• An employee with Kaneka North America, LLC, of Pasadena, Texas, was allegedly injured on October 3, 2019. The employee was troubleshooting a film cutting machine. While adjusting the roller, his right index fingertip was amputated.

• During maintenance of machinery, an employee of CMC Commercial Metals of Odessa, Texas, was allegedly seriously injured on October 1, 2019, having suffered an amputation injury. While trying to troubleshoot an issue with a shaker table that was continually breaking belts connected to the oscillator, the industrial accident occurred. The pulley turned and the employee’s thumb was pulled in between the belt and the sheave. This resulted in an amputation of the right thumb above the knuckle.

• On September 20, 2019, an employee of Covenant Health Systems of Lubbock, Texas, was allegedly injured during maintenance of machinery, when lockout/tagout procedures should have been in place. The employee was changing a fan belt on an HVAC unit when his left hand got caught in the belt. The tip of his index finger was amputated.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, and this continuing series to learn more about the hazards of failing to provide protection with lockout-tagout procedures and machine guarding.

–Guest Contributor

The following continues with details of Texas workplace injuries from a serious on-the-job injury report prepared by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Each of the injuries occurred as a result of getting caught in running equipment during maintenance or cleaning or, at least, not during regular operation. It is implied that there allegedly should have been a lockout/tagout procedure in place that would have prevented the injuries:

• An employee at Otis Elevator in Houston, Texas, was allegedly seriously injured on December 6, 2019. As an employee was trying to manually wipe excess lubricant off of elevator cables, the car moved. This put the employee’s arm in the pinch point between the sheaves and the ropes. The employee suffered a severe fracture and laceration to the left arm and was hospitalized.

• On October 30, 2019, an employee for BASF Corporation in Freeport, Texas, was allegedly seriously injured and hospitalized. An employee amputated his right index fingertip while cleaning a piece of lab equipment.

• An employee of Packaging Corporation of America out of Waco, Texas, was allegedly seriously injured on October 18, 2019. While loading paper onto a machine, an employee’s hand was caught between a roll of paper and a machine mechanism. The employee was hospitalized, having suffered a partial amputation to the right ring finger, losing part of the bone and the pad of the first knuckle.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and this continuing series to learn more about the hazards of failing to provide protection with lockout-tagout procedures and machine guarding.

–Guest Contributor