Ventura Foods, LLC

An employee was cleaning the metal detector on a packaging line. He was removing and repositioning the two-inch, metal ball valve joint when it actuated and amputated approximately one inch of their right index finger.

On February 6, 2023, an employee was working on a line, putting lids on pails of shortening. The employee noticed that a lid was not positioned properly on a pail. As the employee tried to straighten the lid, the lid press came down; the employee's left thumb was caught between the lid and the press. The employee suffered an open fracture of the last joint of the thumb, a nail avulsion, and a partial amputation.

On May 18, 2022, an employee was removing an air valve when it blew back under pressure, hitting the employee in the chest and face. The employee suffered a broken jaw.

An employee filled a 55-gallon trash can with chemicals for cleaning and attempted to move the trash can when the liquid splashed. As the employee attempted to avoid the liquid, he tripped and liquid splashed onto him, resulting in chemical burns on the right side of his torso.

An employee was trying to hook a pallet that had stopped on the conveyor belt when the long hook tripped the sensor for the automatic shuttle car. The employee was pinched between the shuttle car and the racking system, resulting in surgery for lacerations on both legs.

An employee was changing mud cups in the hopper cylinders of a concrete pump truck. The cylinders moved and three of the employees fingers were amputated.

An employee was standing on the rig floor next to a polishing unit. His hand was placed on the polishing unit when the pump was lowered, resulting in amputation of their right thumb, ring, and middle fingertips.

An employee was using air to blow out the air wash to the blender and grinder station. As the employee reached to verify that the air wash was clean, the unit pinched and amputated their fingertip.

An employee was retrieving a lost drill pipe with a lifting bail when their left thumb got pinched between the table and handle of the lifting bail while trying to re-thread the pipe to lift it out. The employee suffered an amputation to the left thumb.

An employee was removing a core chuck from a stationary roll when their right ring finger was pinched between the chuck and the roll. The employee's fingertip was amputated.

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 fell while moving a water canister, resulting in fractures to four fingers on her right hand.

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 mixing sauce using a sauce barrel mixer when his left little finger was amputated.

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.

A temporary employee was carrying a nail gun through the warehouse when it hit his leg, activated, and fired a nail into the leg.