The company faces penalties of $70,000 for safety violations that led to the injury. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited the employer for one willful and one serious violation for failure to maintain workplace safety standards.

OSHA inspectors conducted a six-month investigation. They found the company could have prevented the worker’s injury by installing proper safety guards that ensure the aluminum press operator’s hands are away from the danger zone. The worker lost the ring, middle and index fingers on both his hands. Some of his right pinkie finger was also amputated when his hands got caught in the machine.

“It’s hard to imagine the agony and pain this young man suffered when six of his fingers were amputated,” said OSHA’s Aurora area director Jake Scott. “His life is now forever altered because the press lacked required safeguarding devices. These devices would have prevented his hands from coming in contact with the operating parts of the machine.”

OSHA updated its workplace safety enforcement guidelines last year. Employers are now required to report all hospitalizations, amputations and eye losses within 24 hours. Work-related fatalities must be reported to OSHA within eight hours. The maximum fine for failure to report such incidents in the specified timeframe has increased from $1,000 to $5,000.

Amputations comprised a significant number of OSHA safety violations and severe workplace injuries in 2015. There were 173 amputations reported in Illinois and 2,644 in the United States.

OSHA inspectors reported seeing four Apex Exteriors Inc. employees exposed to the risk of falling over 25 feet from a roof. The workers were installing shingles at a residential construction site without proper fall protection in January. The company also did not follow ladder safety regulations. According to OSHA standards, fall protection is required when employees are working six feet or higher above the next lower level.

The latest incident was the seventh time since 2010 that Apex Exteriors has been cited for fall violations at Illinois work sites. OSHA statistics reveal falls from elevation are responsible for 40 percent of deaths among construction workers. “One false step can be debilitating or fatal to a worker without fall protection,” OSHA’s North Aurora, Illinois, area director Jake Scott said in a statement.

The agency held its annual National Safety Stand-Down Week between May 2 and May 6. Their goal is to encourage employers nationwide to discuss workplace safety with employees. The campaign also urges employers to commit to implementing fall safety measures to protect employees and prevent accidents.