Moving in opposite directions, oncoming, nonroadway · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Watershed Foods, LLC, 202 N. Ford Street, GRIDLEY, ILLINOIS 61744
on — Amputations, affecting the toes(s), toenail(s).
Final narrative
On or about September 15, 2016, an employee was driving a stand-up forklift in reverse from the back of a semi-trailer after setting down a load. A second stand-up forklift was also backing up and the two forklifts collided. The elevated forks of the second forklift struck the left foot of the employee controlling the first forklift. The employee suffered three broken toes, requiring surgical removal of the fourth toe, as well as a cut (left foot).
HospitalizedAmputationToes(s), toenail(s)Forklift, order picker, platform truck-powered
On November 3, 2023, an employee was training on a stand-up forklift. When the forklift moved, the employee fell out the back of the vehicle to the ground below, resulting in a fractured left hip.
An employee had removed the conveyor on the backside of a machine to clean. When the employee went to put the machine back in place, the employee's left ring finger was caught in a pinch point created by the lug conveyor chain and the traying machine. As a result, the employee's left ring fingertip was amputated.
Employee 1 was operating a lift in a standing position. Employee 2 was operating a cherry picker and backing up through an aisle. The lift collided with the cherry picker and employee 1 fell off the lift after striking his right ankle on a wooden pallet that was on the cherry picker. The employee sustained a broken ankle.
An employee was operating a front-rider pallet jack from a freezer box to the loading dock when the vehicle collided with a stand-up forklift that was driving around a corner. The employee suffered multiple fractures in their left foot.
An employee was operating a forklift in reverse down an aisle when the vehicle collided with another forklift. The forks of the other forklift went into the employee's right leg, resulting in a right hairline leg fracture.
After moving empty containers with a forklift, an employee began to travel forward in the forklift. While re-entering the main aisle, the left fork struck the roll cage of an oncoming forklift that was travelling in reverse. This caused the injured employee's forklift to tip over onto a guardrail. The upper rail of the guardrail entered the top of the forklift's roll cage, pinning the employee's legs against the seat. The employee sustained a fractured leg.
An employee was operating a golf cart to retrieve and transport a ladder to the truck shop when they were struck by another vehicle at an intersection. The employee sustained head/brain injuries.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311423)
Two forklift drivers were stopped next to each other and were talking. The injured employee leaned out of their forklift as the other forklift was leaving and they became pinned between the two forklifts. The injured employee was hospitalized with a fractured rib and a lacerated lung.
At about 3:30 p.m. on May 8, 2025, an employee slipped and fell backward while walking around equipment. He landed on the ground, near a water trench into which a steam line and a condensation return line were piped. Hot water from the trench burned his back between the shoulder blades.
An employee was troubleshooting a motor when their right little finger became pinched between the belt and pulley, resulting in amputation of the fingertip.
An employee was driving a forklift to a shipping dock. While he was rounding a corner, a stack of totes fell, and the top of one of the totes struck the outside of his left calf. He was hospitalized.
A crew was preparing a 20-foot section of 12-inch high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe to be swung into a welder using an excavator, where it would be welded onto a longer run of pipe. One employee was facing the longer pipe in the welder while the 20-foot section was being rigged. The 20-foot section moved and struck the employee's left knee. The employee's left leg was broken below the knee.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.