Amputations

On September 9, 2020, an employee was attempting to start a vibrating tamper in order to continue compacting backfill material in a completed excavation. The employee pulled the starter cord multiple times. After the pull which started the engine, the pull cord of the vibrating tamper did not recoil correctly. The employee gathered the excess cord in his left hand in order to prevent an additional slip, trip, or fall hazard. When he engaged the throttle of the machine with his right hand, the pull cord retracted, wrapped around the employee s left thumb, and caused a partial amputation of the thumb tip.