Struck by dislodged flying object, particle · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Ardent Mills, LLC, 4888 South Delaware Drive, EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA 18040
on — Fractures, affecting the multiple face locations.
Final narrative
An employee was loading a bulk flour trailer. A loading cap came off the trailer under pressure and struck the employee in the face resulting in facial lacerations, a nose fracture, and broken teeth.
HospitalizedMultiple face locationsContainer caps, lids, covers
An employee was in the beginning stage of loading a bulk railcar. They were attaching the loading hose to the loading hatch. As they aligned the loading hose to the hatch, their ring finger was pinched in the connection point. The fingertip was amputated, but was later reattached.
An employee was replacing a belt on a fan motor. After the new belt was installed the employee was pulling on the belt from the topside to ensure it was aligned. The glove on his opposite hand got caught and was pulled in between the belt and pulley. He sustained a crush injury with a fracture to the distal fingertip. The injury required a medical amputation of the little finger.
On 07/18/2016, at approximately 11:30 a.m., an employee was operating a flour mill, a machine that consists of a hopper that goes into an airlock. The airlock moves air with a squirrel cage type system. The hopper became clogged, so the employee unbolted and removed a plate to try and clear the clog. The employee's right hand then hit the squirrel cage's assembly, amputating the middle finger at the first knuckle.
An employee was working on a rail car opener when the employee's safety vest became entangled on the rotating shaft pulling the employee in and breaking bones. The employee also lost consciousness.
An employee was tossing a damaged toilet into a compactor. The toilet bounced off the compactor and lacerated the employee's right wrist, cutting an artery and tendon.
An employee was operating a hydraulic jack to bend a frame when the jack came loose and struck the employee. They were hospitalized for a spleen injury.
A truck had been towed into the shop with a flat tire and a blown airbag. An employee checked the tire for damage and was airing the tire. The employee was installing the valve core when the bead slipped off the rim. Air escaped, and the aluminum wheel struck the employee's head and face. The employee became unresponsive and was bleeding.
On December 14, 2023, at 8:40 p.m., three employees were inspecting milling machines for startup. A few of the sleeves on the mill drum needed to be changed out. The injured employee was trying to input a sleeve on the mill drum using a hammer. The hammer hit the edge of the drum, which caused a metal piece to splinter off and strike the employee's cheek just below the left eye. The metal splinter embedded in the back of their eye socket, resulting in pain, swelling, and bleeding that required hospitalization.
An employee was pushing a line of carts into a vestibule when the door cable snapped and struck his right ankle. The employee suffered a fracture that required surgery and hospitalization.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311211)
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 checking a flour roll stand for a blockage. The employee's right hand was caught in an ingoing nip point on the machine, causing partial amputations to the thumb and middle, ring, and little fingers.
An employee was climbing an A-frame ladder to adjust an exhaust pipe on the wall to let the heat out. The employee fell 4-5 feet and injured his right tibia and ankle.
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.