It’s old news but not surprising news. Minnesota researchers studied the nature, incidence, and cause of work‐related amputation injuries between 1994-1995. 832 workers were identified as having amputation injuries during these years – and incidence rate of 39 per 100,000. Could it be the low, low odds of suffering an amputation is a reason for non-compliance with necessary glove use?

An amputation was defined as any finger amputation or the loss of any of body part. Agriculture and manufacturing had the highest rates. Sixty-one percent of the injuries involved one finger; 14 percent involved two or more fingers. Persons working with machinery reported 73 percent of the injuries.

Researchers said these injuries were not random events. In telephone interviews with victims, it was clear that relying on human reactions to prevent these severe injuries was insufficient.