Caught in running equipment or machinery, n.e.c. · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at New Angus, LLC, 13 135th Street South West , ABERDEEN, SOUTH DAKOTA 57401
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was checking a side puller to see whether a contractor had sanitized it when the machine actuated while his hand was inside. His left hand was caught in the side puller, amputating portions of his index, middle, and ring fingers. The side puller was not locked/tagged out at the time of the incident.
An employee was standing behind a band saw, grabbing cut portions of meat and moving them onto the conveyor. His right thumb contacted the saw, resulting in amputation of the thumb.
An employee was opening the cattle gate to the tub. His hand was on the latch and was waiting for the cattle to come in when the gate closed on the employee's thumb. The distal portion of the thumb was amputated.
An employee was removing entrails from a slaughtered cow when a piece of hair from the cow lodged in his middle fingernail bed on his right hand. The employee developed an infection in his hand requiring hospitalization.
An employee was manually catching a carcass that went down the incorrect rail line. The employee caught the carcass before it passed a gate and signaled a nearby employee to shut down the line to allow the carcass to be pulled backwards and moved onto the correct rail. During this process, the carcass fell off the rail system and onto the employee's leg, fracturing a shin bone.
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 311611)
An employee was scraping dried glue from the top lid of a hot glue pot. His left hand slipped and came into contact with the hot glue. He then suffered burns to his hands and fingers as he tried to remove the glue. He was hospitalized.
An employee was in a scissor lift approximately 20 feet above the ground to place a plastic tarp on a catwalk in order to catch condensation. They positioned the lift opposite the work area and stepped out of the scissor lift onto an I-beam. The employee fell from the I-beam to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a skull fracture on the right side of their head and injuries to the chest and both eyes.
A maintenance employee was called to look at a pallet conveyor machine where a chain had fallen off a sprocket wheel. When the employee grabbed the loose chain, a light sensor caused the machine to restart. This created a pinch point between the chain and sprocket that caught the employee's left little finger. The finger was surgically amputated at the second knuckle.
The injured employee was standing by one of the stationary computers along the wall. There was a half-pallet located approximately 3 feet behind the employee that consisted of 12-pound boxes stacked six boxes high. A forklift was transporting a pallet that came in contact with the stationary pallet behind the injured employee, causing four boxes to fall and contact their legs. The injured employee was hospitalized with leg injuries.
An employee was using a box strapping machine to place straps on boxes when his right middle finger was caught in the machine, resulting in an open fracture to the distal phalanx.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.