Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Empire Packing Company, LP, 4780 Alliance Dr. , MASON, OHIO 45040
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
Employees were troubleshooting a slicer. Its timing belt had just been replaced when it pulled in an employee's latex-gloved right hand, resulting in an amputation of the middle fingertip.
AmputationFingertip(s)Food slicers
More severe injuries at Empire Packing Company, LP
An employee was staging pallets using a riding pallet jack when he backed into a racking stop, fell off the pallet jack, and landed on the concrete floor. The employee sustained a head laceration and a concussion.
An employee was cutting pork on a slicer. The blade caught the employee's glove/finger, causing a partial amputation to the employee's right index finger.
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 424470)
An employee was grinding meat in a meat grinder when the auger caught his nitrile glove and pulled his arm into the machine. The employee sustained amputation of their left hand and arm to halfway up the forearm and required surgery. The machine was not guarded at the time of the incident.
An employee was cleaning a sheeter transfer conveyor. He was cleaning the conveyor support bars when his left hand was caught and pulled into a conveyor sprocket. He suffered a fracture, a laceration, and tendon/nerve damage to the hand and was hospitalized.
A warehouse employee was operating a forklift in the freezer area. While making a turn, the forklift slid on condensation that had accumulated on the freezer floor. The forklift struck a yellow pole that designates the exit path and the employee s left heel became caught between the forklift and the yellow pole, resulting in a heel pad avulsion, or rupture of the heel fat pad. The employee's injury required surgery and hospitalization.
An employee was working to deliver mail to an apartment building. She was waiting for a customer to move, to obtain clearance to the mailboxes. The door swung inward and closed on her right little finger. The top half of her finger was surgically amputated.
An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.
On October 30, 2025, an employee was working to adjust a stackable metal shipping container. As the container dropped into place, it caught the employee's hands in an area between the upper and lower cross-members. The employee suffered a laceration to the left ring finger that required stitches, bruising to the right ring finger, and fractures to the right middle finger that necessitated medical amputation of the fingertip.
An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.
An employee was setting up communication equipment for a meeting. They were walking and tripped over a speaker on the ground. The employee sustained a leg injury.