Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Crushing injuries
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Heartland Produce Co., 4550 70th Avenue, KENOSHA, WISCONSIN 53144
on — Crushing injuries, affecting the hand(s) and finger(s).
Final narrative
An employee was loading product onto an elevated pallet that was on a forklift. The lift operator lowered the load while the employee had his hand in the lift mast area, pinching/crushing his hand/fingers.
HospitalizedHand(s) and finger(s)Forklift, order picker, platform truck-powered
An employee was sharpening peeler blades when their shirt was caught in the grinding wheel. The employee sustained tendon damage and a crushed right hand.
An employee was preparing to cut lumber on a panel saw when the clamp engaged and caught the employee's left middle finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 424480)
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On May 14, 2025, at approximately 6:30 AM, a driver was making a delivery at a customer s site when their hand was crushed in a roll-up door. The employee's finger was fractured in three locations and required surgical amputation.
An employee was operating a tractor and utilizing a 2.5-foot kinetic rope and a 1-inch soft shackle to pull another tractor that was stuck in the mud. An additional 30-foot kinetic rope with a soft shackle was hooked up to provide distance from the soft soil. While pulling, the loop end of the terminal shackle on the stuck tractor frayed and released the rope, causing it to recoil back at the pulling tractor. The rope(s) struck the back of the pull tractor, broke the rear window, and struck the employee. The employee was pushed forward into the steering wheel and sustained severe lacerations to the head and a collapsed lung.
An employee was staging products in the back of their box truck to be unloaded. He slipped on a surface in the truck that was wet from rain, and fell out of the back of the truck onto the concrete ground. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured left humerus and required surgery.
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.
An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.