Struck against moving part of machinery or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at MIDWESTERN PET FOODS, INC., 617 S D Street, MONMOUTH, ILLINOIS 61462
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
At 2:06 a.m. on February 3, 2023, an employee was cleaning an extruder system. The employee accessed the second-level work platform to open the lids to access the auger screw used to transfer raw food to the food conditioner. As the employee was using a water hose to clean the auger, their left hand slipped from the auger's housing and into the auger opening. The auger amputated four of the employee's fingers below the first knuckle and the employee was hospitalized.
HospitalizedAmputationFinger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c.Food and beverage processing machinery-specialized, n.e.c.
More severe injuries at MIDWESTERN PET FOODS, INC.
On May 20, 2025, an employee was in a one-person aerial lift to take an environmental swab near an exhaust fan mounted in an exterior wall approximately 15 feet high. As they were taking the sample, the swab was pulled into the fan along with the employee's right hand, resulting in amputations of the thumb and the index and middle fingers.
Two employees were troubleshooting a palletizer. The injured employee was clearing the work area when the machine was cycled and their right leg was caught in the machine. The employee sustained a fractured ankle.
On June 21, 2024, a maintenance employee was setting up a palletizing machine preparing for the plant to resume production following a planned shutdown. The employee attempted to correct the machine's location by kicking it into position. The employee lost their balance and fell to the floor, fracturing their pelvis. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was guiding a forklift operator through the warehouse with a work platform when the work platform became caught on a pallet of animal food and slid off of the forks of the forklift and on top of the employee. The employee suffered a dislocated left shoulder and possible shoulder fracture.
An employee was operating a strip saw. As the employee shut off the saw, their right index and middle fingertips were amputated by the blade before it came to a complete stop.
An employee was using a table saw to cut a piece of wood for wall framing. The wood jumped, causing the employee's hand to move toward the saw, amputating their left index finger and causing a laceration on their hand.
An employee was operating a trim saw. While trying to free a jammed board she had just cut, she came into contact with the running saw blade, which amputated her right thumb.
An employee was working to remove a spatula that got stuck in an auger at the bottom of a hopper. The employee went to remove the face plate to help release the spatula. His fingers were in the holes to pull off the face plate when the machine actuated. His right middle finger got trapped between the face plate and the inner plate, resulting in amputation.
An employee was walking in a parking lot during break when they were struck by a vehicle, resulting in fractures to their left scapula and lower right leg.
An employee bent down to turn on an air valve, lost their footing, and struck their hand on a pressure relief valve while trying to catch themselves. The employee suffered an amputation to their right index fingertip.
An employee was working on a production line, packaging chews for animals. She retrieved a fallen cap for another production line from the floor and went to put in back in the machine it had fallen from (a capper). The machine caught the tip of her left little finger, causing a fingertip amputation.
An employee was taking apart the piping to a meat pump for clean-up. He saw food debris inside the pump housing and went to remove it. The meat pump rotor caught and severed his right index and middle fingertips, resulting in partial fingertip amputations.
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.