Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Rich Products Corporation, 200 Glyndale Drive, BRUNSWICK, GEORGIA 31520
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee had been unloading cheese from a blender. The employee was holding two buttons used to control the cheese blender paddles/manually jog the equipment. The employee let go of the buttons and went to grab a piece of cheese that was stuck in the blender. There was a 4-second delay after letting go of the buttons before the paddles completely stopped moving. The employee's hand contacted the still moving paddles. The employee sustained an amputation to the corner of the left pinky fingertip and a laceration on the pad of the left pinky finger.
AmputationFingertip(s)Mixers, blenders, whippers-food and beverage
An employee was replacing bands on the conveyor in the packaging area when their right middle finger was caught in the conveyor, resulting in an amputation of the fingertip.
On July 30, 2021, at 6:00 p.m., an employee was removing a hose and the stainless steel hardline for a positive displacement pump when their left middle finger caught on a blade in the pump, resulting in amputation of the fingertip.
Two employees were operating forklifts in a freezer. One forklift stopped to let the other go by. One of the forklifts slid on the icy floor and its forks struck the left calf of the other forklift's operator, fracturing their shin.
At about 4:30 a.m. on February 17, 2021, an employee was cleaning underneath a running conveyor. The employee's right glove was pulled into the conveyor as the employee was cleaning flour from the surface of the conveyor, causing the right hand and forearm to become caught between the conveyor and the surface underneath. The employee suffered a broken wrist/forearm.
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.
An employee was helping to lift the grating from a floor draining system when the grating slipped and landed on his hand, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger at the first joint.
During a workshop meeting in a hotel, an employee heard a drilling noise, so he walked outside to see what it was. An explosion occurred (possible gas line) and his face, ear, and hair were burned. He also fell and sustained a pelvic fracture.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.