Amputations

An employee was about to use a pipe threading machine to cut and thread 1.5-inch pipe and thread on fittings. The fitting he was installing was a 1.5-inch tee onto the pipe he had just cut and threaded; he was using the machine's motor to turn the pipe as he held the fitting/tee using a 14-inch pipe wrench. After the tee had been started, the machine turned on and the pipe began to rotate. The pipe wrench contacted the machine's threading assembly, which stopped the rotation; the employee's left index fingertip was caught, crushed, and amputated between the wrench and the carriage assembly.