Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Tempur Sealy International, 435 Riverpark Dr., KANSAS CITY, KANSAS 66105
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
At about 6:30 p.m. on March 15, 2022, an employee was using a vertical sewing machine to work on the border of a mattress. The machine jammed, and the employee was trying to clear it when their hand slipped into the machine. The chop blade activated and amputated the employee's right index and middle fingertips between the nail and the first knuckle.
An employee was hosing down and cleaning a concrete curb machine when the hose got caught and his hand was pulled into the auger of the machine, resulting in fractures and amputations of the right ring and little fingers.
An employee was using a machine to fill bags with birdseed. The employee was clearing a stuck bag under the machine when the bag cutter amputated the employee's fingertip.
A temporary employee was helping an operator remove jammed laminations from a press machine when their right ring finger got pinched between the laminations and the brake of the chute, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee had just serviced a radiator on a concrete machine. During the final check on the machine, the employee was adjusting a hose when a fan caught his right index finger. The finger was amputated at the second knuckle.
Two employees were using a water hose to unclog a heart and liver separator machine. The machine was turned on while one employee's hand was inside it, and an auger under it amputated the tip of his right index finger. He was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 337910)
On April 14, 2025, an employee was fixing a belt on a mattress tape machine. The belt had folded over; as he was unfolding it, it caught his right ring finger and pulled it into a roller. He suffered a partial amputation through the finger bone.
An employee was stepping down from an order picker when they tripped over the forks of another electric pallet jack that was parked nearby and fell to the ground. The employee sustained a displaced pilon fracture to their left tibia.
On January 11, 2023, an employee was operating a saw machine. He stepped onto the cutting table and fell backward approximately 20 inches onto the floor. He struck his head and neck on the metal frame of the equipment and was hospitalized.
The injured employee had been using a powered industrial truck to unload a delivery of foam buns coming into the plant. He went to assist the operator of a carousel saw in getting a foam bun to go through the saw. The injured employee got on top of the foam bun which was on the saw table and his hands and knees depressed into the bun. His left kneecap was lacerated by the saw blade as the bun went through the saw. The employee was hospitalized with tendon damage that required surgery.
An employee was working to remove a product blockage from a piece of equipment. The employee was struck by a metal bar near the deck of the pin mixer equipment and sustained blunt force trauma to the torso.
An employee was moving a rack onto a lower conveyor in the south heat treat area when their finger got caught between the part tray and the rollers, resulting in a fingertip fracture and amputation.
An employee was climbing a ladder to get on top of the breakroom. The ladder slipped, causing him to fall to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to his upper back, left foot, and ankle.
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.