Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at TOOTSIE ROLL INDUSTRIES, INC., 7401 S. CICERO AVE., CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60629
on — Fractures, affecting the pelvis.
Final narrative
At 9:45 p.m. on February 23, 2022, a guard slipped and fell while walking security rounds near a dock door. The employee landed on the ground and suffered a broken pelvis, as well as a soft tissue injury.
Candy fell inside a conveyor and caused a jam. An employee was clearing the jam when his right bicep was lacerated and he was hospitalized. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was working in the forest flagging an area to be harvested. He took a step and his foot slipped on a stick hidden under the leaves, causing him to fall to the ground. He landed on his right foot/lower leg resulting in a fractured tibia.
An employee was inspecting an apartment to ensure it was ready for a new resident to move in. The carpet in the apartment had been recently cleaned and was still wet. As the employee went from the carpet to the tiled floor of the bathroom, they slipped and fell, resulting in a torn left hamstring.
An employee was delivering a letter along a rural carrier route when she stepped on an ice-covered snow drift, slipped, and fell to the ground. The employee sustained a right hip fracture that required surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311340)
Candy fell inside a conveyor and caused a jam. An employee was clearing the jam when his right bicep was lacerated and he was hospitalized. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was performing sanitation on top of a bagger machine mezzanine that was 98 inches above ground. The top of the bagger mezzanine was accessed using a rolling safety ladder that was welded in place. The employee was coming down the ladder carrying a a 5-gallon bucket when they slipped and fell to the floor, suffering a broken neck and right index finger.
An employee was pushing a cart of raw centers back into the oven and was pushing down latches on the cart with his fingers while another associate pushed the stack of mogul boards back into the oven. The stack sits on rollers. The employee's fingers were not clear of the shear area and his left middle fingertip was amputated between the metal framed mogul board pallet and the cart latch area.
An employee was operating a stand-up forklift and driving behind a sit-down forklift when they contacted the rear of the sit-down forklift. The employee's left foot was caught between the two forklifts and fractured, and they had skin tear on their lower leg.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.