Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Nestle USA, Inc., 216 N. MORTON AVE., MORTON, ILLINOIS 61550
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
While cleaning a conveyor, a temporary employee came into contact with a drive wheel on the conveyor's chain and sprocket. The employee required surgical amputations to the right ring and little fingers.
An employee was using a hoist to lift a piece of equipment from the first floor of the prechill room to the second floor through a section of grating on hinges in the floor about 3 ft. by 6 ft. After the piece of the equipment had been lifted through the hole, the employee fell through the open space onto the floor 12 ft. below and suffered multiple fractures.
An employee was performing a clean-in-place process and took pipes apart. The pipes contained pressurized hot water that burned the employee's head, neck, and back.
An employee was changing a valve on a mixing kettle when a cleaning chemical leaked from the valve onto the employee's left hip, resulting in a chemical burn.
An employee was using a foaming unit to sanitize floors before rinsing. He was investigating a noise from the unit when it sprayed sanitizing solution into his eyes, burning them.
Two employees were repairing the hydraulic engagement pins on a rented front-end wheel loader. The machine controls were activated to move the attachment pins and an employee's finger was caught between the pins and the bushings. Their right index finger was partially amputated.
An employee was cleaning the conveyor on a piece of equipment when they slipped and their right hand was pulled into the chain sprocket. The employee's fifth fingertip was amputated.
An employee was throwing blankets onto a blanket folding and stacking machine. A blanket got stuck in the machine and she attempted to remove it when the machine contacted her right little finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311421)
An employee was adjusting the tension on the fruit distribution conveyor belt. While testing the tension, the employee's left hand/arm was pulled into the rollers. The employee's lower left arm was fractured.
Forklift drivers were unloading product from a semi trailer. One employee stopped their forklift about 15-20 feet from the back of the trailer, got out, and began adjusting the forklift's forks. Another forklift backed into the employee, who suffered a compound fracture of the left tibia and was hospitalized.
An employee was in the janitorial closet rearranging the janitor's cart. She stepped back and tripped over the wheel of the cart, causing her to fall to the ground and sustain a fractured hip.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.