Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at The Hershey Company, 6 Scotch Pine Drive, HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA 18202
on — Fractures, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee had been clearing a plate carrier jam on an industrial oven. During reassembly of the oven rails, one of the oven plates opened causing the hinged top section of the plate to swing down and catch the employee's left ring finger against a frame rail. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured and lacerated left ring finger.
An employee was driving a utility cart into a garage area. The vehicle struck the bottom of the garage door as it was opening and the employee sustained fractured ribs.
On June 2, 2025, at approximately 8:45 PM, an employee was taking apart the trayoff belt on a conveyor. While working to remove the roller, the employee's left ring finger was crushed between the roller and the frame of the equipment. The employee sustained a partial fingertip amputation.
An employee was performing retails tasks including bending over and lifting 35-pound cases of product. After lifting about 25 boxes he felt back pain, resulting in severe nerve root compression at the base of the spinal cord due to a disc herniation. He required hospitalization and surgery.
An employee used a small air wand to clean an electrical panel with compressed air. The disconnect was off prior to conducting the task. However, the panel feeds were live. An arc flash occurred and the employee sustained first and second-degree burns to their head, neck, chest, and right arm. Arc-rated personal protective equipment was not used.
An employee was operating a forklift and unloading a truck. After the truck was unloaded, the employee got off the forklift and proceeded to adjust the dock plate with a hook tool. The dock plate slipped and the employee went to adjust the plate with their hand when their left middle finger got caught. Their finger was amputated above the first joint.
An employee was rotating a carbide granulator blade when his finger was caught between the blade and a stationary part of the machine. The employee's right middle finger was partially amputated and they suffered an avulsion to the right ring fingertip.
An employee was using a CNC metal lathe machine in manual mode to check that the thread blocking tool made contact with the jaws. As the employee was manually spinning the spindle, his index fingertip was crushed between the spindle's jaws and the grooving insert, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
During a material handling operation, an employee's fingertip was caught under an air conditioning unit as the unit was lowered onto a cart. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
An employee was removing a bolt from a tractor hub when their right index finger was caught between the hub and the frame. The employee's fingertip was crushed and the employee was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311352)
An employee was scraping excess peanut butter that had built up between a bump guard and the vacuum head. The employee was guiding the scraper tool when his right index finger became caught between the vacuum hood and the trays, resulting in an amputation to the finger at approximately the first knuckle.
An employee was carrying bags of coconut to load into a machine. While holding empty bags, the employee slipped on the two-step stairway leading to the machine, which was slick with coconut oil. The employee fell, landed on the stairs on their side, and suffered three broken ribs and a pneumothorax.
An employee was waiting for product to come down a conveyor belt. The employee's left hand was caught between the belt and a roller under it, and their left hand and arm were pulled into the conveyor. The employee suffered a broken little finger, a broken ulna, and a laceration on the wrist.
An employee was working on a tempering machine to temper chocolate. The employee was clearing material from the pneumatic butterfly valve when their finger was crushed by the valve. The employee sustained an amputation of right middle finger to the first knuckle. The machine was not guarded at the time.
An employee was verifying the tension on a drive belt when their right hand was caught between the drive belt and a pulley, resulting in a fractured right middle finger and an amputation to the right ring finger.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.