United Cooperative

An employee was loading feed (grain) from grain bins into a truck when the truck moved, and they fell off an11-foot fixed ladder on the truck's trailer to the concrete ground. The employee sustained fractures to both legs as well as contusions/abrasions to their shoulders and arms.

An employee became ill while operating a forklift. The employee was hospitalized, suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.

On November 28, 2022, an employee was lifting a motor with a chain when the eyelet broke. The motor fell and the employee was struck in the head, suffering a blood clot in the brain. The employee was hospitalized.

On January 6, 2022, two employees accessed the top of a series of rail cars to open the lids in preparation for loading the next day. Due to extremely cold and snowy conditions, the rail car lids were frozen shut. One of the employees fell approximately 14 feet to the frozen ground below, resulting in two broken ankles and hospitalization. Fall protection was not used at the time.

At about 11:30 a.m. on July 19, 2021, an employee was on a ladder when the ladder slipped out at the bottom. The employee fell to the concrete 5 or 6 feet below, landing on their right side and suffering fractures to the right foot and shoulder. The employee was hospitalized.

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.

An employee was fixing an issue with seed cleaning equipment when he slipped on the ladder he was on. He went to catch himself and his hand went into a moving belt and pulley on the cleaner. The employee sustained the amputation of his right middle and index fingertips just below the fingernails.

At about 5:30 p.m. on September 23, 2025, an employee was unloading rubber mix material from a mixer. The employee's hand was caught by rotating parts in a discharge chute, causing a partial, soft-tissue amputation to a fingertip.

An employee was walking around a customer's truck. The truck door opened and caused the employee to trip and fall on a salt pallet. The employee suffered a compound fracture to the left arm.

An employee had delivered product to a customer and was driving a forklift to the rear of the delivery truck. The forklift jumped/bounced, sending the employee up into the air and back down onto the seat. The employee sustained a back fracture.

An employee was climbing an inspection ladder to observe the inside of a hopper. He slipped on the fourth rung, fell backward, and landed on his right foot on the ground about 38 inches below, suffering a broken right ankle.

The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.

An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.

A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.

An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.

An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.