Scissor Lift Incident: De-Gloving


A serious injury occurred where an electrical worker had his ‘pinkie’ finger de-gloved as a result of an incident whilst exiting a scissor lift. The injured person required a skin graft to the finger to repair the significant damage. The details of the incident were as follows:

The incident occurred on the 6/4/17, on a construction site in Melbourne:

  • The injured person was exiting the scissor lift backwards until he reached the final step. At this point he took hold of the left frame of the scissor lift with his right hand, turned to his left and hopped off the last step to the ground.
  • As the injured person hopped off the last step his finger became jammed between the frame of the scissor lift and the chain link welded onto it, resulting in the skin of his finger being pulled completely off (de-gloved).

Members should seek to remove the ability for this incident to occur:

  • Immediate Control: Tape around link and frame
  • Long Term Control: Remove links upon approval from supplier / manufacturer

It is the recommendation of the ETU that scissor lifts that have the chain link in a position that can enable entrapment, be taken out of service until the immediate control is in place. For more information contact your designated Health & Safety Representative, your local organiser or alternatively your Union OH&S Officer.

You can download a copy of Safety Alert 58 here.