Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at The Hershey Company, 400 Running Pump Road, LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA 17603
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was repairing the weather stripping around a door and amputated the top of the left middle finger.
An employee was driving a utility cart into a garage area. The vehicle struck the bottom of the garage door as it was opening and the employee sustained fractured ribs.
On June 2, 2025, at approximately 8:45 PM, an employee was taking apart the trayoff belt on a conveyor. While working to remove the roller, the employee's left ring finger was crushed between the roller and the frame of the equipment. The employee sustained a partial fingertip amputation.
An employee was performing retails tasks including bending over and lifting 35-pound cases of product. After lifting about 25 boxes he felt back pain, resulting in severe nerve root compression at the base of the spinal cord due to a disc herniation. He required hospitalization and surgery.
An employee used a small air wand to clean an electrical panel with compressed air. The disconnect was off prior to conducting the task. However, the panel feeds were live. An arc flash occurred and the employee sustained first and second-degree burns to their head, neck, chest, and right arm. Arc-rated personal protective equipment was not used.
On September 25, 2023, an employee was working in the body department installing doors, hoods, and tailgates. The employee finished their shift and was hospitalized later that evening for a back injury.
Candy fell inside a conveyor and caused a jam. An employee was clearing the jam when his right bicep was lacerated and he was hospitalized. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was performing sanitation on top of a bagger machine mezzanine that was 98 inches above ground. The top of the bagger mezzanine was accessed using a rolling safety ladder that was welded in place. The employee was coming down the ladder carrying a a 5-gallon bucket when they slipped and fell to the floor, suffering a broken neck and right index finger.
An employee was pushing a cart of raw centers back into the oven and was pushing down latches on the cart with his fingers while another associate pushed the stack of mogul boards back into the oven. The stack sits on rollers. The employee's fingers were not clear of the shear area and his left middle fingertip was amputated between the metal framed mogul board pallet and the cart latch area.
An employee was operating a stand-up forklift and driving behind a sit-down forklift when they contacted the rear of the sit-down forklift. The employee's left foot was caught between the two forklifts and fractured, and they had skin tear on their lower leg.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.