Grease Gun Incident

Euroforest Safety Alert

A serious accident occurred when an operator was carrying out daily maintenance on his machine. The incident occurred as the operator was in the process of greasing his machine with a battery powered grease gun. The operator had carried out a visual inspection of the grease gun ensuring it was fit for purpose.

Following two operations to clean grease from the wound the operator has regained feeling and movement in his thumb, significant bruising and repair to tissue damage will take weeks or even months to fully repair but ultimately the risk of amputation has been avoided.
It is important that all operators consider the risks from using this type of grease gun and ensure that replacement parts are rated appropriately in terms of pressure rating. Operators are also reminded that any hydraulic hose under pressure is capable of inflicting similar wounds and that a failure to seek immediate medical assistance could result in an amputation.