Struck by discharged object or substance · Cuts, lacerations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Darling Ingredients Inc., 834 FM 227 East, GRAPELAND, TEXAS 75844
on — Cuts, lacerations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was on a catwalk pressure washing the inside of a feather dryer to prepare it for maintenance. The employee's knee pad slipped, causing him to lose his balance and move forward. The stream from the pressure washer contacted his left index finger, resulting in a laceration that required hospitalization.
A driver just completed dumping the contents of his truck bed and the hides basket at their facility. The employee noticed that the hides basket door did not close completely after the dump bed was lowered with the exterior controls. The employee went to manually push the hides basket door closed when their hand was pinched between the door and body of the hides basket, resulting in a right ring fingertip amputation. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
On June 2, 2023, an employee was standing on the mezzanine around the pressure cookers when hot steam and 300-degree grease escaped from the ports. The employee sustained burns to 57% of their body.
An employee was cleaning a centrifuge when he dropped a pair of pliers. The pliers struck a valve containing hot water, causing it to it discharge and strike him in the face. The employee sustained second-degree burns to the nose and right cheek.
An employee was changing a pump on the air scrubber unit in the chemical pump room. There was residual caustic in the pump that burned the employee's face and eyes.
An employee was installing wood trim surrounding a skylight inside a home. While holding a piece of trim in it's desired location, his pneumatic nail gun discharged, sending a 3/4-inch pin nail into his left forearm.
An employee removed a safety valve on a trailer that unknowingly contained nitrogen gas. The gas released from the trailer and pushed the employee backward off a scaffold approximately 10 feet before they struck a garage door, resulting in a pelvic injury.
An employee was sitting at her workstation when a nail gun malfunctioned and shot a nail into her left leg. She suffered a puncture and blood vessel injury and was hospitalized.
On November 25, 2023, an employee was using a high-pressured water hose to perform sewer line cleaning operations. The employee's right little finger and palm were lacerated by pressurized water from the hose.
An employee was working on removing the gearbox from the drive shaft of the motor assembly of a feather drier. He was using a hydraulic tool to pull the pieces apart when a bolt dislodged from the eye of the gearbox and the corner of the gearbox broke off. The employee was struck in the nose (sinus cavity), resulting in hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was on a forklift checking the sprinkler system drain. The employee fell 8 feet from the forklift to the floor. The employee suffered a broken collar bone and was hospitalized.
An employee was working as a dumper on a packaging line. A passing forklift turned and pinned the employee against a guardrail. The employee suffered fractures to their ribs and a leg requiring hospitalization.
An employee was cleaning an upper mezzanine. When he leaned against the mezzanine gate, he fell through the gate opening and landed 11 feet below. The employee sustained fractured orbital bones.
An employee was assigned to clean a feed mill in the basement. He then rode a tool and material basket to return from the basement to the ground level. He fell out of the basket and landed about 5 feet below. The employee sustained fractures to his arm, lower back, and foot.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.