A 23-year-old worker at a Portsmouth, Ohio, hardwood floor manufacturer suffered a partial arm amputation in May 2024, leading to multiple safety citations and proposed penalties of $255,528 from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Appalachian Wood Floors Inc., operating as Graf Custom Hardwood, was cited for bypassing safety devices on a rip saw machine at its Charles Street facility, where the incident occurred. OSHA inspectors found the disabled safety feature allowed the worker to become entangled in the machine's rotating blades during troubleshooting.