# Amputations at Central Backhoe and Utilities
> OSHA SIR `2019044385` · 4/30/2019 · CASTROVILLE, TEXAS
## Severity
- **1 amputation, 1 hospitalization**
- **Body part:** Finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c.
- **Nature of injury:** Amputations
## Cause
- **Event:** Struck by swinging part of powered vehicle
- **Source:** Excavating machinery, unspecified
## Employer
- **Name:** Central Backhoe and Utilities
- **Location:** Sittre St., CASTROVILLE, TEXAS, 78056
- **NAICS:** 2371
- **Jurisdiction:** 1
## Narrative

An employee was in the trench putting a gasket on the previous pipe joint when an excavator  started lifting the cut joint. The pipe swung like a pendulum as it was lifted and smashed the employee's left-hand fingers between the swinging pipe and the existing pipe. Two fingers were surgically amputated to the first knuckle.

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*Source: [OSHA Severe Injury Reports](https://www.osha.gov/severe-injury-reports) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*