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.

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.

An employee had just set a feed box on a truck. When the employee reached back to move something, the employee's left index finger was pinched between the feed box and the truck. The fingertip was amputated.

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 passing through a building when she suffered an allergic reaction to a cinnamon air freshener. The employee began to feel dizzy and ill, ultimately becoming unresponsive. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee wearing a blasting hood was preparing to blast inside a tank. The line that supplies the hood with breathing air was plugged into an argon line. The employee breathed the argon gas and fell. The employee was hospitalized for argon poisoning.

An employee was preparing a pump for maintenance. When the employee removed a cover, chemicals were released into the air. The employee was exposed to hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan and was hospitalized.

An employee was exposed to carbon monoxide that was leaking from a kiln. The employee lost consciousness and was hospitalized.

An employee was inside a trailer with a running lawn mower and sustained carbon monoxide poisoning.

An employee was preparing to unjam an auger shaft while standing on a forklift-elevated, job-made platform. The employee's wrench slipped off the equipment, causing them to lose their balance and fall. The employee landed on the ground 14 feet below and suffered fractures to the orbital bone, left elbow, and lower back.

An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.

An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.

An employee had been cleaning a grain bin. He walked across the bin and his left foot contacted an unguarded floor auger, resulting in severe lacerations to the foot. The auger was not locked out/tagged out at the time.

On September 23, 2025, an employee was monitoring a feed roller when they tripped and their right hand contacted the roller. The employee was hospitalized and their right hand was amputated at the wrist.

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.