Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, 4700 N. 132nd Street, BUTLER, WISCONSIN 53007
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
Worker operating a Formax machine sustained a finger amputation while attempting to clean out an overflow pan under the machine.
AmputationFinger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c.Food and beverage processing machinery-specialized, n.e.c.
More severe injuries at Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation
A maintenance employee was called to look at a pallet conveyor machine where a chain had fallen off a sprocket wheel. When the employee grabbed the loose chain, a light sensor caused the machine to restart. This created a pinch point between the chain and sprocket that caught the employee's left little finger. The finger was surgically amputated at the second knuckle.
A conveyor drive had been strapped to a lift for removal. As the drive was removed, the strap holding it shifted, causing it to swing. An employee's right hand was caught between the swinging drive and the frame of the conveyor, and the last joint of the little finger was amputated.
An employee was unjamming a box coming from a case sealer when their right hand was caught in a conveyor belt. Their middle and ring fingers sustained amputations to the second knuckle.
An employee had finished sharpening a knife on the grinding wheel and was returning it when he lost grip of the handle. As the employee reached to catch the it, his abdomen was lacerated by the knife blade in the right lower quadrant.
An employee was staging product on the shipping dock while operating a lift truck. As the employee was driving from the shipping dock to the finished goods warehouse, the lift controls began malfunctioning. The vehicle collided with a bollard and the employee's leg was caught between it and the vehicle, resulting in multiple leg, ankle, and foot fractures.
Two employees were repairing the hydraulic engagement pins on a rented front-end wheel loader. The machine controls were activated to move the attachment pins and an employee's finger was caught between the pins and the bushings. Their right index finger was partially amputated.
An employee was cleaning the conveyor on a piece of equipment when they slipped and their right hand was pulled into the chain sprocket. The employee's fifth fingertip was amputated.
An employee was throwing blankets onto a blanket folding and stacking machine. A blanket got stuck in the machine and she attempted to remove it when the machine contacted her right little finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311612)
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was using a de-clipping machine to cut the metal clips off of sausage sticks. As the employee put a link of sausages into the machine, their hand slipped into the point of operation. A piston pinched the employee's left index finger, causing a partial amputation.
An employee was operating a small tabletop grinder in a food safety quality assurance lab. She was stuffing meat down the grinder's chute when the grinder caught her right hand. Its auger caused an amputation to her middle finger and a partial amputation to her index finger.
A maintenance employee was removing an inspection plate from an industrial cooker. Hot liquid spilled onto him and burned his hands, arms, and torso area. He was hospitalized.
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.
An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.