Abstract: 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 the chain the operator used to connect the tub grinder to the excavator hook had come 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 grinder 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 signal to the coworker operating the excavator that his hands were clear, as the coworker could not see the employee's hands from the excavator cab. However, the coworker thought that the employee was clear of the equipment and he curled the bucket of the excavator, catching the employee's left index finger between the chain and bucket. The employee signaled his coworker to stop, and the coworker immediately stopped and uncurled the excavator bucket. The employee called his employer to notify them of the injury, and then proceeded to the hospital. The employee was transported from the hospital to another medical center for a hand specialist. The employee was hospitalized and treated for amputation of his left index finger.