UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At 8:45 a.m. on October 14, 2021, an employee was assisting a coworker using an excavator while working at a landscaping site. The employee had noticed that th e chain the operator used to connect the tub grinder to the excavator hook had c ome undone. The employee had let the coworker know that they were coming over to the excavator to help, and then he approached and put the chain from the tub gr inder back onto the teeth of the excavator basket. After the employee finished putting the chain around the excavator bucket, he was about to move back and sig nal to the coworker operating the excavator that his hands were clear, as the co worker could not see the employee's hands from the excavator cab. However, the c oworker thought that the employee was clear of the equipment and he curled the b ucket of the excavator, catching the employee's left index finger between the ch ain and bucket. The employee signaled his coworker to stop, and the coworker im mediately stopped and uncurled the excavator bucket. The employee called his emp loyer to notify them of the injury, and then proceeded to the hospital. The empl oyee was transported from the hospital to another medical center for a hand spec ialist. The employee was hospitalized and treated for amputation of his left ind ex finger.