OSHA: Blade guard could have prevented Cotati worker's hand injury

<p>A Cotati graphics store paper cutter didn't have a protective guard required by law that might have prevented a shop employee from maiming his hand, according to California's occupational safety agency.</p><p>Lon Martinsen, 51, wiggled his hand for the first time Thursday since he was rushed to a San Francisco surgery center after the hand was nearly severed in an industrial accident, and then reattached by surgeons.</p><p>Martinsen's hand was bandaged, swollen and still painful, but he said none of that mattered after he was able to wiggle a finger Thursday.</p><p>“My fingers are moving around, it's wonderful,” Martinsen said on the phone from his hospital bed.</p><p>Inspectors with the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration arrived at Grafix Screen Printing after Martinsen's accident just before 8 a.m. Monday.</p><p>The guillotine-style paper cutter Martinsen was using had no guard, said Krisann Chasarik, an administration spokeswoman.</p><p>“We consider that an imminent hazard, and until that's corrected they're prohibited from using the machine,” Chasarik said.</p><p>Chasarik described the machine as a Dexter-brand appliance with an electric motor and a key switch.</p><p>The Porter Street business will have to install a protective guard and get re-inspected before the machine can be used again, Chasarik said.</p><p>Martinsen was cutting printed decals with the industrial cutter when the accident occurred, said Michele Holman, shop manager.</p><p>“It's a big electric one, and there's a foot pedal you have to step on to bring the guard down,” Holman said. “You have to use two hands to make the blade come down. No one's really sure how it happened.”</p><p>The machine had some safety guards but needed one more to comply with the law, Holman said she learned after the accident.</p><p>Holman said the machine was old and too expensive to fix so she is looking to buy a used industrial cutter that's up to code.</p><p>From his San Francisco recovery bed, Martinsen said doctors don't yet know how much function he'll regain in his hand. In the meantime, he'll have to learn to do things with his left hand.</p><p>“I'll be learning all kinds of new stuff,” Martinsen said.</p>