Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Chobani, LLC, 669 County Road 25, NEW BERLIN, NEW YORK 13411
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was assisting in the repositioning of an industrial freezer when their right ring fingertip became pinched between two freezers. The fingertip was amputated.
An employee was clearing a cup jam on a cup conveyor when their left hand was caught between the conveyor and an idler roller located on another conveyor line directly above the jam. The employee received an abrasion and friction burn to the hand that required hospitalization.
An employee was training other employees on inspecting finished goods on a pallet. When he knelt down behind the pallet and used his left hand to indicate what the failed inspection point was, a riding pallet jack entered the staging area and the employee's left little finger was crushed between the end of the fork and the pallet. The distal phalanx was medically amputated.
An employee was clearing a cup/foil jam on a filler when they were injured by the yogurt cup conveyor. The employee sustained lacerations to the left arm and left side and fractures to the left arm.
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 311511)
An employee was performing rear brake shoe service on a truck. The employee was using a prybar to remove a spring when the spring slipped from the S-cam and amputated his left index fingertip.
An employee was unjamming a case that was stuck in a case washer machine when their pants became entangled in a chain, causing them to be sprayed with hot water from the machine. They employee suffered burns from the hot water.
An employee was clearing a cup jam on a cup conveyor when their left hand was caught between the conveyor and an idler roller located on another conveyor line directly above the jam. The employee received an abrasion and friction burn to the hand that required hospitalization.
An employee was performing routine maintenance on an air valve when their right ring finger became caught in the valve. The employee sustained an amputation to the fingertip.
An employee was operating a battery-powered broom to clean demolition debris off the top of the outermost bridge girder. The girder was approximately 11 feet above the demolition scaffold below. The employee fell approximately 8 feet to wind bracing below. The employee was hospitalized with a pelvis/tailbone fracture. Fall protection was in place at the time.
An employee slipped while descending in a stairwell, fell, and suffered multiple contusions/bruises to the head, neck, shoulders, knees, and back. She was hospitalized.
An employee was directing trucks as they entered and left a highway work zone. A vehicle struck them, resulting in multiple fractures and other injuries. The employee was hospitalized.