Fall through surface or existing opening less than 6 feet · Heat (thermal) burns, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Ventura Foods, LLC, 3900 Vanderbilt Road, BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA 35217
on — Heat (thermal) burns, unspecified, affecting the nonclassifiable.
Final narrative
An employee was cleaning the exterior of a tank. While moving around the tank, the employee slipped into an uncovered trench drain 15 inches deep. The drain was clogged and full of margarine and hot water. The employee fell in a seated position with her feet in the drain. The employee was hospitalized for burns.
HospitalizedNonclassifiableGrates and drains in floor surface
An employee was cleaning the metal detector on a packaging line. He was removing and repositioning the two-inch, metal ball valve joint when it actuated and amputated approximately one inch of their right index finger.
On February 6, 2023, an employee was working on a line, putting lids on pails of shortening. The employee noticed that a lid was not positioned properly on a pail. As the employee tried to straighten the lid, the lid press came down; the employee's left thumb was caught between the lid and the press. The employee suffered an open fracture of the last joint of the thumb, a nail avulsion, and a partial amputation.
On May 18, 2022, an employee was removing an air valve when it blew back under pressure, hitting the employee in the chest and face. The employee suffered a broken jaw.
An employee filled a 55-gallon trash can with chemicals for cleaning and attempted to move the trash can when the liquid splashed. As the employee attempted to avoid the liquid, he tripped and liquid splashed onto him, resulting in chemical burns on the right side of his torso.
An employee was trying to hook a pallet that had stopped on the conveyor belt when the long hook tripped the sensor for the automatic shuttle car. The employee was pinched between the shuttle car and the racking system, resulting in surgery for lacerations on both legs.
A temporary employee walked across a wooden pallet to retrieve product to stock. When he walked back across the pallet, it broke, causing the employee to fall to the ground and sustain a fractured hip.
On April 10, 2023, at 12:00 PM, an employee was using a broom to clear rock from a building's foundation in preparation for a spray-on vapor barrier. There was a 4-foot deep trench next to the building where the employee was working and the soil at the trench's edge fell away. The employee fell into the trench and was hospitalized for a left pelvis and/or femur fracture.
An employee was walking up a steel staircase to check wiring in the electrical room. The staircase had a top platform with a grate that was sitting across the beams of the platform. The grate had shifted and as the employee stepped on it, it gave way, causing him to fall approximately 3 feet to the ground below. The grate landed on the employee and he was hospitalized for four transverse process fractures in the lower spine.
An employee was stocking the freezer and stepped on a wood pallet. The employee's foot went into the pallet and they sustained a right ankle fracture that required hospitalization and surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311225)
An employee had isolated, depressurized, and de-energized the south filter canister to replace a filter. They loosened the pressurized lid of the north canister, resulting in hot oil spraying them. The employee was hospitalized with burns to their arms and neck. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was not worn at the time.
An employee was unclogging product from a railcar hose using air pressure from a valve. The air hose coupling went out of control in the employee's right hand and struck the employee's right shin, resulting in a fractured tibia. The employee was hospitalized.
On March 22, 2023, an employee was using a broom to push down on a dock plate. The employee lost her balance and fell from the dock to the ground, sustaining fractures to the left leg, left knee, and right heel.
An employee was trying to unclog a pressurized oil supply line when a flange blew off the pipe and struck the employee, resulting in intestinal injuries.
An employee filled a 55-gallon trash can with chemicals for cleaning and attempted to move the trash can when the liquid splashed. As the employee attempted to avoid the liquid, he tripped and liquid splashed onto him, resulting in chemical burns on the right side of his torso.
An employee was traveling down the maintenance aisle of a warehouse on a single-pallet front rider jack. The jack malfunctioned, causing the brakes to apply; the employee fell forward onto the concrete warehouse floor. The employee suffered an injury to the left leg and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was operating a metal roller machine to roll a small piece of metal. The employee's right index finger became caught between the metal and the machine, and the fingertip was amputated.
An employee was directing a truck driver to a dump site when the truck's peanut trailer slipped off the kingpin. As the trailer fell, a ladder attached to it lacerated the employee's ear. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was unloading a forklift from a trailer to the ground. The employee was climbing down the ladder of the trailer when their foot slipped through one of the rungs, causing them to fall backward onto the forklift forks. The employee was hospitalized for fractured ribs.