45-year-old worker loses parts of 3 fingers on table saw

CORDOVA, Ill. — A 45-year-old lost part of three fingers when his left hand caught in a table saw at a Cordova company that fabricates reusable shipping containers. Doctors reattached the fingers, but had to amputate the tip of his left middle finger. The employee has been unable to return to work.

A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection found that his employer, Material Control Systems Inc., failed to follow safety practices that could have prevented the June 17 amputation. The company received one willful safety violation from OSHA on Sept. 3. Proposed penalties total $63,000.

"The injury could permanently affect this man's ability to earn a living," said Thomas Bielema, OSHA's area director in Peoria. "Had Material Control Systems installed machine guards to prevent the worker's hand from contacting the saw, he would not have suffered. Each year, thousands of workers are injured on -the -job because their employers fail to follow safety rules."

These violations are among OSHA's most frequently cited, and can result in death or permanent disability.

View current citations here.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Peoria Area Office at 309-589-7033.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.