Could a moment of distraction have caused a worker to lose his right hand?
Cal-OSHA is investigating an incident at Gafix Screen Printing in Cotati.
Reports say Lon Martinsen had his hand cut off while working with a large, electric paper cutter.
The company’s office manager, Michele Holman, said Martinsen was cutting vinyl material used to make stickers and decals. “He said it just came down on him, so he must have been distracted,” Holman said.
Co-workers responded quickly, using T-shirts and towels to create a tourniquet to try to stop the bleeding.
Martinsen was conscious through the incident.
He was taken to a local hospital and then transferred to one in San Francisco where doctors hoped they could reattach his hand.