Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Clemens Food Group, 2700 Clemens Rd., HATFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA 19440
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
A forklift pushed a metal vat against a bollard while an employee had their hand on the vat. The employee's left middle finger was smashed between the vat and the bollard and the fingertip was amputated.
AmputationFingertip(s)Forklift, order picker, platform truck-powered
An employee was on a ladder re-installing a shaft assembly and bolting it to a polisher machine. As the employee was retrieving the bolts from his pocket, the rigging point on the shaft failed and struck the ladder causing it to tip over. The employee fell backwards off the ladder onto the ground and the shaft assembly struck his right lower leg. The employee suffered an impact injury to their lower right leg and a back injury from the fall to the floor.
An employee was blowing out a clogged grease line. The line burst and the grease caused second-degree burns to the back of the employee's neck and both ears.
An employee was operating a ham skinning machine when a ham became stuck on the roller skinners. The employee was attempting to pull the ham back when the skinners on the machine regained traction and pulled the ham into the machine. The employee's right index finger became caught between the ham and the skinner blade, partially amputating the fingertip.
An employee was pushing a rack of product from one location to another when the trolley of the rack fell off the rail, crushing the employee's big toe and requiring surgery.
Two employees were walking through the warehouse behind a forklift that was moving pallets of 30-foot metal bottom bars. When the forklift reversed, the top of the forklift struck a box of metal bottom bars on top of racking, causing the box to fall and strike the two employees. They were both taken to the hospital; one employee was treated and released without being admitted. The other employee was hospitalized with a fractured left orbital bone and an injured right knee.
The injured employee was spray painting lay flat shipping reels while another employee was picking up the reels with a telehandler after they were painted. The telehandler bumped a reel, causing other reels to fall. The injured employee was caught between the reels, resulting in broken left femur.
An employee was installing an aerial drop cable across a roadway. The employee was on a ladder positioned against a telephone pole. Cable had been installed on one side of the roadway. The employee was making the connection to the pole on the opposite side of the roadway when a box truck contacted the cable, causing the employee to fall onto the grass of the customer's yard. The employee sustained broken ribs and was hospitalized.
An employee was performing routine housekeeping duties when a bale of plastic bottles slid off the forks of a forklift that was backing out of a trailer. The bale struck the employee, pushing her into another machine. The employee suffered a fractured rib and punctured lung.
An employee was using a 4-by-4 to straighten a pack of wood. A forklift nudged the 4-by-4, which caused the employee's right hand to be caught between it and the pack of wood. The employee suffered a partial amputation to the right ring finger.
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 walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.