Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310195441 - Progressive Business Corp., Progressive Insulation

Inspection Information - Office: Van Nuys District Office

Investigation Summary

On October 25, 2006, an employee was working as a "Lead" window installer. He was assigned the job by the production manager. It was a "retrofit" window installation on a large residence. The employee had worked at the job site for three days with a crew of four workers, which included another lead installer and two helpers. At the time of the accident, the employee was using a DeWalt 10 compound miter saw, Type 3, Serial Number 156810, 120 V/60 Hz/15 A/5000 RPM, with a blade guard in place. The saw was placed on top of a piece of 4-ft by 8-ft plywood, which was placed on top of two steel 3-ft saw horses. The saw was not mounted or secured to the plywood, nor was the plywood secured to the saw horses. According to the employee, he had cut a 4-5 ft piece off one end of the piece of molding, which was 16-ft wide by 0.5-in. thick. He then mitered each end of the piece. He measured out another 4-5 ft section and prepared to make the cut. He was holding the wood with his left hand and the saw handle with his right hand on the trigger. He was watching the right side of the blade and the mark where he was going to cut. He was not aware that his left hand was too close to the path of the blade. He started the cut and immediately realized he had cut his left index finger. He clutched his hand and ran to get help from a coworker. They looked for the finger tip, but they could not find it. The coworker drove the employee to the Los Robles Hospital, Thousand Oaks. The employee was seen in the emergency area and was asked if he had the finger tip. When he told them he did not have it, they indicated that if it could be found there may be a chance it could reattached. The employee telephoned the coworker and told him to look for the finger tip. The finger tip was found and brought to the hospital. The employee was seen by a hand specialist, and the finger tip was reattached. He was about to be released when the finger started bleeding. He was seen by the hand specialist again, who stopped the bleeding and he was admitted to the hospital on October 25 and released October 28. The employee stated that he had terrible pain over the weekend and went to the doctor's office on the following October 30. He was examined, and the doctor indicated the finger tip was dead and that it had to be removed. He was scheduled for outpatient surgery on November 1, at the Los Robles Surgi-Center. The employee subsequently returned to work.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FINGER, STRUCK AGAINST, SAW