Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at MCCAIN FOODS USA, INC., 100 W COLEMAN STREET, RICE LAKE, WISCONSIN 54868
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was operating a carton sealing machine when a box lid got hung up on the advancer conveyor and jammed. The employee reached over to correct the jam, and the employee's finger contacted the conveyor or rollers. The pad of the employee's left middle finger was amputated.
An employee was putting a machine guard back onto a chain and sprocket when their left middle finger became caught in the chain and sprocket. The employee sustained an amputation of the fingertip.
On December 3, 2024, at approximately 11:30 PM, electronic technicians were adjusting a tensioning chain on an elevator on a palletizer that had become unlevel. After loosening the tensioners and creating slack in the chain, the injured employee was placing the tensioning chain back onto the sprocket. While moving the chain it regained tension and their left middle fingertip was caught between the chain and the sprocket and was amputated.
An employee was cleaning jammed potatoes from the top of a roll sizer in the raw receiving area when her right index finger was caught in the chain, resulting in hospitalization and a fingertip amputation.
On December 12, 2023, at approximately 3:00 a.m., an employee was unplugging a drain with a powered snake tool when his left hand was caught in the snake cable. The cable pinched his left ring finger, resulting in a fracture and partial fingertip amputation.
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 311412)
An employee was performing maintenance under a kettle. When he removed a tri-clamp on a transfer line, the hot fat and broth material in the kettle poured out onto his arm. The employee was hospitalized with burns.
An employee was walking on top of boiler to close a valve. The employee fell off the boiler and landed on the floor, sustaining fractured ribs. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was inspecting a pipe in the rice cooking area near an oven. While checking for a clog, the fingers of their right hand were caught in an airlock at the base of the pipe. All the fingers were amputated except the thumb. The employee was hospitalized.
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.