Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at The Yankee Candle Company, Inc., 102 Christian Ln, WHATELY, MASSACHUSETTS 01093
on — Fractures, affecting the hip(s).
Final narrative
An employee fell to the ground while helping another employee move stock/product. The injured employee sustained a broken hip.
An employee was helping to dislodge a standup forklift that had a wheel stuck in the floor of a container that was being offloaded (the floor had given way). The employee wrapped a tow chain around the mast guard of a counterbalance forklift and hooked the chain to the wheel of the standup forklift. When the standup forklift dislodged and started to travel down the dock plate toward the slower counterbalance forklift, the right fork of the counterbalance forklift entered the cab space of the standup forklift striking the employee. The employee was hospitalized with a fracture to the left leg below the knee.
On January 16, 2020, at 6:20 p.m., an employee stepped out of the cab of a trailer truck and onto an asphalt road when he slipped on black ice, fell on the road. He suffered a head injury and laceration, requiring hospitalization.
An employee was walking behind the store with another associate to get paperwork from the delivery driver when she fell on the walkway and sustained a leg fracture that required surgery.
An employee was adjusting the forks on a forklift when a fork detached from the forklift. The employee jumped out of the way but fell on the concrete floor. The employee was hospitalized with a broken hip.
An employee was cutting extruded aluminum framing material using a horizontal band saw. She went to grab a rag in the machine when the rag contacted the blade and pulled her hand in toward the blade, resulting in a partial amputation of the right index finger.
An employee was climbing an 8-foot ladder to clean windows on a house. The employee was reaching to the right when they lost their balance and slipped. The employee fell and their foot became caught in the ladder rungs, causing both the employee and the ladder to fall to the ground. The employee sustained a fracture to the right leg requiring hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was offloading material using a forklift when the hoisted material began shifting. The employee went to manually stabilize the load and their right middle fingertip was pinched and amputated.
An employee was packing candles on a line. They reached down to pick up a 12-pack of candles when their right little finger was caught in the conveyor belt, resulting in an amputation at the distal joint.
An employee fell while exiting a trailer. The employee landed on their left side on the pavement, suffering multiple broken ribs on the left side. The employee was hospitalized.
Two employees were setting up a mandrel in the spindle of a machine. The mandrel was side-shifted while an employee's hand was on the mast of a powered industrial truck. The employee suffered crushing injuries that resulted in amputations to the middle and ring fingertips.
An employee had been loading a double deck press. The employee saw a mold had been sent in with the C-hook still attached on the belly bar. As he went to remove the hook from the mold, his right thumb got caught on the C-hook. The employee's thumb was partially amputated.
An employee was operating a roller and paving a small pathway next to a pavilion. The ground was on a slight pitch, causing him to reach up toward the roll cage to stabilize himself. His right fifth finger was pinched between the roll cage and the rafter of the pavilion. The employee sustained a partial degloving injury with partial traumatic amputation.
An employee was delivering home heating fuel when bees came from the ground and stung the employee's face, neck, torso, and hands. The employee proceeded to shut off the oil flow before losing consciousness. They were hospitalized due to an anaphylactic reaction.