Inspection Detail

Inspection: 314864091 - Agd Laundry & Finishing Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Los Angeles District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 1:00 p.m. on September 28, 2012, an employee was working as a machine operator for a laundry. The employer provided laundry, dyeing and other garment finishing services in the City of Los Angeles, CA. The employee had been working for the employer for about a month prior to the incident. On the day of the incident, the employee was working with three coworkers on an STM heat transfer machine. Employees were assigned by a supervisor to operate the machine to heat treat precut pieces of fabric. As the employee was feeding the precut pieces into the machine, his left hand became caught between the rollers of the machine and was pulled in. He sustained the amputation of all the fingers on his left hand, and he sustained third-degree burns to that hand. At the time of the incident, the machine's operating temperature was set at approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit (149 degrees Celsius). The in-running sides of the rollers of the machine were not protected with a fixed or self-adjusting guard that would have prevented employees from feeding material to the machine while avoiding the risk of getting their fingers caught between the rollers. After the incident, the injured employee was transported to a health clinic and then transported by an ambulance to the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, FINGER, MACHINE OPERATOR, ROLLER--MACH/PART, CAUGHT BETWEEN, NIP POINT, TEXTILE, UNGUARDED, HIGH TEMPERATURE