Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Lindt & Sprungli (USA) Inc., 1 Fine Chocolate Place, STRATHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE 03885
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was trying to retrieve a dropped paper towel from a chocolate mixing machine. An agitator grabbed her glove, and the mixing blades amputated the tip of her right index finger.
AmputationFingertip(s)Mixers, blenders, whippers-food and beverage
More severe injuries at Lindt & Sprungli (USA) Inc.
An employee was cleaning parts for the Piab system (pneumatic transfer system for raw materials) using sani-wipes as part of the allergen clean process on the bar line. Parts were stored on a cleaning cart along the side of the bar line room away from the production line. The cleaning process includes cleaning two rod magnets. Six magnetic rods of varying lengths are arranged in parallel with 1" spacing between each rod. The rods are connected by brackets to form a singular circular magnet approximately 13" in diameter. During an earlier shift, the two rod magnets got stuck together. The employee attempted to separate the two magnets with his hands. During this process, the magnets shifted and pinched the tip of his left middle finger. When the employee jerked his hand away from the magnets, his fingertip was amputated.
An employee's hand got caught in an auger while cleaning a machine. The employee suffered broken wrist bones. The machine was still running at the time of the incident.
An employee was sharpening peeler blades when their shirt was caught in the grinding wheel. The employee sustained tendon damage and a crushed right hand.
An employee was preparing to cut lumber on a panel saw when the clamp engaged and caught the employee's left middle finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311351)
An employee had been cleaning red garbage bins (gondolas) near the dock area. The employee tripped and fell off the dock. The employee sustained fractures to an elbow and two ribs, and had bleeding in their lungs.
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 unjamming a hand feed machine in the wrap room. Paper caught the employee's left hand and dragged it into a crimper machine. The employee suffered amputations of the index and middle fingers.
An employee was lowering the bucket of a track loader that contained a grade stake and the grade stake punctured his foot, resulting in hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was using a pike to move a pallet of sugar that was stuck in the powder racking. The employee fell backward, landing on his right leg. The employee's leg was fractured and he was hospitalized.
An employee was working to fix the forks on a forklift when the fork(s) fell on her toes. The second and third toes on her right foot were fractured, lacerated, and required stitches.
An employee was delivering a 65-foot boom lift to a rental customer's construction site. The employee set up the ramp truck in the parking lot adjacent to the construction site. He elevated the boom 4-5 feet to clear a temporary fence. While driving the boom lift off the ramp, the wheels slid to the driver's side of the ramp truck, ultimately sliding off the ramp. The boom lift fell off the side of the truck and rolled onto its side. The employee sustained a fractured clavicle, a dislocated shoulder, separated/fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and a fractured left femur. The employee required surgery.