Court affirms employee with(out) amputated finger not disabled

An Ohio state appellate court recently affirmed summary judgment (dismissal without a trial) in favor of the employer on a number of claims, including disability discrimination, by a former employee who lost a middle finger in a workplace accident.

Facts

Bradd Creveling was employed by Lakepark Industries, Inc., in Greenwich, Ohio, as a tool and die maker. On September 13, 2016, he seriously injured his right hand at work while operating a Bridgeport vertical milling machine. He was wearing industrial gloves at the time. The injury occurred when his glove and hand got caught in the milling machine, which severely mangled his hand. He was taken to the hospital and eventually had to have his right middle finger amputated.

On the drive to the hospital, Creveling told the driver (who was Lakepark’s HR manager) he “screwed up” because he “knew better than to wear gloves” while operating the Bridgeport machine. Indeed, he had received extensive safety training during the course of his employment that gloves should never be worn while operating rotating cutting equipment.

Creveling was on a workers’ compensation-covered medical leave of absence from September 14, 2016, to April 24, 2017. Lakepark never disputed or contested any aspect of his workers’ comp claim.