Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Packers Sanitation Services Inc., LTD., National Beef Packing Company, LLC, LIBERAL, KANSAS 67901
on — Amputations, affecting the lower leg(s).
Final narrative
An employee was rinsing equipment with a high-pressure hose when he raised one of his legs approximately 3 feet off the ground and his foot entered an opening in the side of the equipment. His foot became entangled with the equipment, resulting in an amputation at the left knee.
An employee sustained a partial amputation of the left index fingertip when his glove was caught in a cutter machine as he was removing a piece of chicken. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was cleaning a drain cover when he dropped the drain cover and it fell onto the tip of his left middle finger, resulting in an amputation with no bone loss.
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 561720)
An employee was rinsing a food processing machine at a facility and went to stabilize himself. His left hand contacted the surface of the machine and a guard inadvertently closed, crushing the tip of his ring finger and resulting in an amputation and fracture.
An employee was performing janitorial duties on the 15th floor of a building that was under construction. She began having trouble breathing. The employee was hospitalized with lung irritation caused by dust.
On October 17, 2025, an employee was descending a fixed two-step stool when she slipped, landed on her left leg, and suffered a broken femur. She was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee slipped while getting on a trailer. His chin struck the trailer jack, and he suffered fractures to his jawbone and thyroid cartilage. He was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
A crew was finishing work for the day at a job site. An insulated modular panel (IMP) being used as a door fell on an employee. She suffered a dislocated shoulder, a broken arm, and a gash on her left leg. She was hospitalized, requiring surgery for the arm/shoulder injury.
An employee was working to remove a product blockage from a piece of equipment. The employee was struck by a metal bar near the deck of the pin mixer equipment and sustained blunt force trauma to the torso.
An employee was moving a rack onto a lower conveyor in the south heat treat area when their finger got caught between the part tray and the rollers, resulting in a fingertip fracture and amputation.
An employee was climbing a ladder to get on top of the breakroom. The ladder slipped, causing him to fall to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to his upper back, left foot, and ankle.
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.