Fall through surface or existing opening 11 to 15 feet · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at The Jam Smucker Company, 1 Strawberry Lane, ORRVILLE, OHIO 44667
on — Fractures, affecting the leg(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was clearing the large coffee bean hopper at a height of approximately 35 feet. He lost his balance and fell through the opening for the permanent ladder access. He fell 12 feet to a lower level and broke his right leg, requiring hospitalization. A full guardrail system was in place at the time.
An employee was checking an HVAC unit in the attic when they fell approximately 15 feet through the rafters to the floor. The employee sustained fractures to the ribs and scapula as well as a collapsed lung.
An employee was removing grating to change metal chip hoppers located in a pit. The employee lost his balance and fell approximately 12 feet from the grate, landing in the metal chip hopper. The employee sustained a sprained right foot, a left foot fracture, and a fractured L5 vertebra.
An employee was reviewing the next steps to take with the foreman when some material fell from above and landed near them. The injured employee then looked up, took a step on the catwalk, and fell through a gap, landing on the ground 15 feet below. The employee sustained three fractured vertebrae and a head laceration.
0n November 16, 2023, an employee was climbing onto a catwalk to cut valves for unit heaters in a building. The employee fell 14 feet through the attic onto the concrete floor, resulting in a fractured pelvis.
An employee was removing a rooftop curb when they fell approximately 15 feet through an opening in the roof, resulting in a fractured leg that required hospitalization.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311999)
An employee was reaching for a piece of angle iron when it fell onto his hand, which was on a table to support him as he reached for the overhead rack. He suffered a broken finger and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was working to open the liftgate on the back of a delivery truck. His left middle finger was pinched between the gate and its frame, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was working to deliver mail to an apartment building. She was waiting for a customer to move, to obtain clearance to the mailboxes. The door swung inward and closed on her right little finger. The top half of her finger was surgically amputated.
An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.
On October 30, 2025, an employee was working to adjust a stackable metal shipping container. As the container dropped into place, it caught the employee's hands in an area between the upper and lower cross-members. The employee suffered a laceration to the left ring finger that required stitches, bruising to the right ring finger, and fractures to the right middle finger that necessitated medical amputation of the fingertip.
An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.
An employee was setting up communication equipment for a meeting. They were walking and tripped over a speaker on the ground. The employee sustained a leg injury.