Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Perdue Farms Inc., 255 N. Rehoboth Blvd., MILFORD, DELAWARE 19963
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
On 11/03/2016, at approximately 5:15 PM, an employee was troubleshooting a gizzard machine that was not running properly. He was attempting to identify the problem and got assistance from a coworker. He closed the cover and shut down the machine. The machine was turned back on while the employee's right hand was in the moving/rotating parts of the chain drive and sprocket, amputating 3/4 of his index finger and 1/2 of his middle finger.
An employee was rinsing out a batter machine. He went to clear a piece of meat on the inlet of the pump when his fingertip was amputated. The employee was hospitalized and underwent surgery.
An employee was hanging chickens on shackles in the evisceration department. While removing a chicken from a hook, the employee's finger was lacerated by a double leg shackle resulting in a partial amputation.
A maintenance employee was repairing a conveyor belt sheave on an offal pump. His right hand middle finger was caught when removing the belt resulting in amputation. The machine was locked out/tagged out at the time.
While spraying a runaround conveyor machine with a pressure washer, an employee noticed something on the conveyor belt. The employee was attempting to remove the object when the employee's hand was caught between the belt and a moving sprocket. The employee suffered a right arm fracture and tissue damage.
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 311615)
An employee was unloading a forklift from a trailer to the ground. The employee was climbing down the ladder of the trailer when their foot slipped through one of the rungs, causing them to fall backward onto the forklift forks. The employee was hospitalized for fractured ribs.
An employee was troubleshooting a thigh deboner on a poultry processing line. As he worked to dislodge a thigh bone caught in the blade mechanism, the machine amputated the first and second digits on his left hand. He was hospitalized.
On September 25, 2025, an employee was exiting a yard truck. They slipped and fell approximately 3 feet from the top tread of the steps to the concrete below. The employee sustained a fractured left hip.
An employee was operating a stand-up forklift, picking product for an order. The forklift struck a metal rack and the employee's left arm was caught between the forklift and the rack. He was hospitalized with a fracture to the neck of his radius and an open fracture to the olecranon (elbow).
A flagger was directing traffic flow in a highway work zone. They were standing approximately 1.5 feet behind the shoulder's demarcating line, next to and slightly behind a traffic drum. As they were directing traffic into and out of the driveway of a parking lot, a car attempted to get around a truck and struck the traffic drum, which subsequently struck the employee, who was thrown 15 feet and landed on top of concrete aggregate. The employee suffered pelvic and rib fractures, T10 and L3 vertebra fractures, and internal bleeding.
An employee was troubleshooting a power washer in the field. Because there might have been water in its fuel, he brought it back to the shop and drained about a gallon of fuel from the tank into a plastic container. Some of the fuel spilled onto the floor and ignited. The employee was stomping out the fire when he lost his balance and tripped into a stool, which caused the plastic container to spill more fuel onto the fire. The employee's pants and shirt caught on fire, and he fell, abrading his knee while trying to get through the flames. As well as the knee abrasion, he suffered burns to the left leg and left lower quadrant of the torso. He was hospitalized.
An employee was backing up a tram (towing powered industrial equipment) to connect it to a trash bin. The employee's left forearm/wrist was caught and crushed between the tram and the bin. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee went to lift a carton and tripped on a different carton that was on the floor. She fell on the floor in the backroom and sustained a fractured right hip, and abrasions to her arm and knee. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.