Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects, unspecified · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at The Hershey Company, 6 Scotch Pine Drive, HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA 18202
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was operating an oven that manufactures thin wafers by applying batter to oven plates. Wafers began accumulating at the scraper and the employee opened the access door to remove the wafers. As his finger became hot from contacting the oven components, he pulled his hand away and his finger was caught between the scraper and the oven plate, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
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 changing mud cups in the hopper cylinders of a concrete pump truck. The cylinders moved and three of the employees fingers were amputated.
An employee was standing on the rig floor next to a polishing unit. His hand was placed on the polishing unit when the pump was lowered, resulting in amputation of their right thumb, ring, and middle fingertips.
An employee was using air to blow out the air wash to the blender and grinder station. As the employee reached to verify that the air wash was clean, the unit pinched and amputated their fingertip.
An employee was retrieving a lost drill pipe with a lifting bail when their left thumb got pinched between the table and handle of the lifting bail while trying to re-thread the pipe to lift it out. The employee suffered an amputation to the left thumb.
An employee was removing a core chuck from a stationary roll when their right ring finger was pinched between the chuck and the roll. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
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.