Caught in running equipment or machinery, n.e.c. · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Processing Division), 13111 Highway 190 W, HAMMOND, LOUISIANA 70404
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was observing a switch operation during troubleshooting and got a finger caught in the motor belt resulting in two fingertip amputations.
AmputationFingertip(s)Machinery, unspecified
More severe injuries at Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Processing Division)
An employee was performing service and maintenance on a chiller machine. While placing the screen back onto the chiller, the machine started up, causing the employee's left leg to become caught by the paddle. They sustained a left tibia fracture.
On August 12, 2021, at 1:00 p.m., an employee was clocking in after a lunch break when he was struck by a manual dolly loaded with trays. The employee fell to the ground and suffered a fractured femur.
An employee clocked out and was leaving the plant for the day. The employee got into a physical altercation with another employee who struck him in the face resulting in a broken jaw requiring hospitalization.
Employees were assembling and testing a butterfly valve unit and actuator combo. When the unit was function tested with air, the valve gate closed on an employee's left thumb resulting in a fracture and laceration.
An employee was doing a daily inspection of the sifter screen on a mixer when the mixer line activated. The armature for the screen struck the employee's right wrist. Their wrist was cut and their hand was fractured.
An employee was doing a dry run during the setup of an ice cream machine. The machine indexed and the filler head amputated the employee's left middle finger above the last knuckle.
An employee was on a 3-foot ladder guiding cable onto a spool during installation on an overhead door. As the control box was jogged, the employee's hand was caught between the cable and spool, resulting in a wrist and hand fracture.
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 driver was exiting his vehicle outside the plant gate when his foot slipped on the top step of the truck. He fell to the ground, landed on his left hip and elbow. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured hip/femur.
A security employee was responding to an urgent call from staff regarding a violent patient. The employee tripped and fell on the floor outside of the stairwell. The employee sustained a closed head injury, contusion of the cerebrum without loss of consciousness, and a closed fracture of the distal end of the right radius.
A temporary employee was testing an electrical starter motor. He was placing tape on the starter while the breaker was not engaged, but the starter sent an arc flash that burned his hands and stomach.
An employee was walking on a sidewalk and stubbed his toe on an elevated portion of concrete, causing him to trip and fall. The employee's right knee was dislocated.