Contact with hot objects or substances · Second degree heat (thermal) burns
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Watson Incorporated, 301 Heffernan Drive, WEST HAVEN, CONNECTICUT 06516
on — Second degree heat (thermal) burns, affecting the foot(feet) and leg(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
While performing a troubleshooting task on a folding ladder, an employee braced one foot on the kettle lid. The lid slipped off and fell inside the kettle, which was full of 250-degree melted flakes, causing the employee's leg to fall inside the hot solution. The employee suffered second degree burns to the left foot and lower leg.
HospitalizedFoot(feet) and leg(s), n.e.c.Food products, n.e.c.
An employee connected a steam line to a hose to clean equipment when the fitting broke loose. They were struck by steam in the left inner thigh, resulting in burns that required hospitalization.
An employee was making tea when she noticed tea grinds were collecting on the side and water was no longer dripping through the funnel. The employee was checking the funnel when boiling water and tea grinds spilled onto the left side of her body. The employee sustained burns to her neck, back, and arm.
An employee had turned off the ball valve on a waterpipe system and was removing the plug when the coupling system attached to the strainer came apart. Hot water sprayed on his arm and back, resulting in first- and second-degree burns that required surgery.
An employee was using a shovel to remove waste vermiculite from molten zinc. The metal had been placed in a bin and partially hardened. The employee broke through the partially hardened metal; still-molten metal flowed to the employee's steel-toed right boot and entered through the cloth boot tongue. The employee suffered a third-degree burn to the right foot and was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311822)
A team was disassembling a dough pump s auger to allow the wastewater to drain from an allergen changeover. The auger became stuck due to suction caused by residual wet dough. A paddle was being used to pry the auger loose when the suction force suddenly released, causing the auger to retract unexpectedly. A finger on the employee's left hand was caught between the auger and the housing, leading to an amputation to that finger.
On February 4, 2025, at approximately 6:20 PM, an employee was cleaning the dough inside a divider when they sustained an amputation to their right index fingertip.
An employee was troubleshooting a mixer on the biscuit line when their hand became caught under the machine belt, resulting in fractures and an amputation of their middle fingertip. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was operating the bake sealer (used to seal the product) on the line and there a change over in the process. The employee was moving the bake sealer when he slipped and his hands were caught between the moving belts of it, resulting in a partial amputation of the left little finger.
An employee was checking on a machine outside of the building and removed a cover to clean out a blocked area. His hand was caught by a rotary valve in a dust collection machine. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
An employee was working to clean a glue roller with a scraper tool. The tool and the employee's left thumb were pinched between two rollers, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was re-arranging boxes of pipe insulation on a pallet. One of the boxes fell from the pallet and knocked over an upright empty cylinder. The cylinder fell and crushed the tip of the employee's right toe. The employee's toe required surgical amputation.
An employee was securing the claw of a grapple truck to the truck bed. His left little finger was caught between the tie down strap and the rub rail of the truck, resulting in partial amputation of the finger.
An employee was cutting extruded aluminum framing material using a horizontal band saw. She went to grab a rag in the machine when the rag contacted the blade and pulled her hand in toward the blade, resulting in a partial amputation of the right index finger.