Abstract: An outside plant technician working on a heavy construction crew had pulled out an old electric cable. The lead-sheathed cable was about 75 millimeters in diameter. The employee's truck was equipped to pull out the cable and chop it into pieces. The cable needed to have a clean cut on the end so that it could be drawn through a long tube as part of the operation. The employee used a hydraulic cutter to make the cut. As he was raising the cutter into position, he felt a pain in his left hand. He discovered that part of his left thumb was missing when he removed his work glove. The cutter had amputated it. He was hospitalized where surgeons reattached his thumb, which was found inside his work glove.