Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Starkist Samoa, Main Road at Satala, PAGO PAGO, AMERICAN SAMOA 96799
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
On April 12, 2016, at about 7:05 p.m., an employee was trying to clean out pieces of fish from the 4-pound feed conveyor when the employee's fingers were caught by the machine's knife, amputating the right third and fourth fingertips.
HospitalizedAmputationFingertip(s)Food and beverage processing machinery-specialized, n.e.c.
An employee was positioning a metal plate used to connect to a storage container. The plate fell and caught the employee's right big toe and right index finger against the container. The toe was crushed and the finger was amputated.
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 311712)
On July 7, 2025, an employee was cleaning food from under a conveyor belt. He was retrieving a piece of food when his left middle finger contacted the chain and pulley. The fingertip was amputated. The machine was guarded at the time of the incident.
On December 16, 2024, at approximately 3:07 p.m., an employee was feeding frozen fish blocks via a conveyor belt into a floor mounted electrically powered grinder. The grinder became jammed with the fish material. The worker deenergized the machine and used a rolling ladder to climb approximately 4 feet in the air to unjam it. As the fish block became dislodged, the momentum of the action caused the fish block to slam down on her right thumb and the machine, causing a partial amputation of the thumb tip.
An employee opened a fillet machine to remove a fish that had gotten stuck when their left hand made contact with the blade, resulting in cut ligaments between the thumb and index finger.
An employee was moving a loading ramp to the dock when the ramp became stuck. While dislodging it, the ramp fell on their left hand. The employee sustained a partial amputation to their left middle finger.
A mechanic was working on the brakes of a truck when the driver operated the vehicle. The vehicle partially ran over the side of the mechanic's abdomen. The employee sustained soft tissue abrasions.
An employee was positioning a metal plate used to connect to a storage container. The plate fell and caught the employee's right big toe and right index finger against the container. The toe was crushed and the finger was amputated.
An employee was pushing pieces of fish into a filler machine when her fingers contacted the knife of the filler machine. The employee's index and ring fingers were amputated.
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