Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120309315 - Coupon Adventures

Inspection Information - Office: Van Nuys District Office

Investigation Summary

On October 5, 2004, Employee #1, an experienced printing press operator of Coupon Adventures in Chatsworth CA, was running a job operating two printing presses. Coupon Adventures had eight employees and six independent contractors working as commissioned sales staff. Coupon Adventures staff work to print coupons that are mailed to the surrounding communities. One-hundred-pound rolls of paper were supposed to feed automatically into the printing presses. Employee #1 was attempting to cut a section of paper that had torn and feed it through the press manually. He reached through metal guards that were placed at the point of operation and permanently fixed to the machine when his finger was caught by the press. Employee #1 suffered a partial amputation to his left middle fingertip. There was bone loss during surgery. Though the victim was in charge of operating the printing presses, he did not hold an official title of foreman due to the company's small size. When interviewed, Employee #1 said he knew what he was doing was wrong and gave no reason other than to take a short cut. The accident was not reported within eight hours, as the employer could not have known of the bone loss either at the time of the accident or within twenty-four hours without a review of the medical records.

Keywords: PRINTING PRESS, AMPUTATED, PRINTING, FINGER, GUARD, WORK RULES, MACHINE OPERATOR, POINT OF OPERATION