Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Berry Global Inc., 4611 Central Avenue, MONROE, LOUISIANA 71203
on — Amputations, affecting the arm(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was operating a recycling mixer machine when his left arm was caught in the auger resulting in amputation of the arm.
On September 20, 2022, an employee was installing wear pads under the newly installed mold carrier in a plastic injection press carrier. The employee used a crane with a nylon sling to slightly tilt the carrier so the wear pads could be placed. The sling failed, snapped, and struck the employee's left index finger, causing an amputation to the finger.
An employee went to pick up a tool that had fallen near an adjacent machine. Their left hand became caught inside a blower motor fan blade, resulting in a dislocated finger and a fractured finger. Surgery was required to repair the injuries.
An employee was trying to pull trim on rollers. His left wrist and fingers were pinched by the edge rollers, causing fractures to the wrist, the little finger, and the ring finger.
On October 5, 2020, at approximately 8:13 a.m., an employee was preparing to string a cast extrusion line. When the employee ducked under the winder to grab the rope used to string, the carriage moved forward and struck the employee in the face. The employee fell to the floor and struck their head on the floor resulting in a severe head injury.
At 4:10 a.m. on April 10, 2020, an employee was setting up a new roll of plastic on a winder machine. The machine pulled in the employee's left hand, breaking several bones in the forearm area. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was sharpening peeler blades when their shirt was caught in the grinding wheel. The employee sustained tendon damage and a crushed right hand.
An employee was preparing to cut lumber on a panel saw when the clamp engaged and caught the employee's left middle finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 326130)
The injured employee was letting air out of a winding shaft using scissors as a lift table was used to pull the roll off the shaft. The roll/cardboard core slid over the top of the injured employee's scissors and caused the scissors to amputate the employee's little fingertip at the nail base.
An employee was dropping off a skid of laminate to be cut at a table saw. The skid was lifted and the forks tilted forward when the stack slid forward and struck the injured employee. The employee was pinned between the laminate and the table of the saw, resulting in a back fracture and a laceration to the liver.
An employee was using a machine to cut a roll of plastic sheeting. The employee's right hand was at the end of the roll, and when the cutting mechanism of the machine cycled, the employee's right middle and ring fingers were cut, resulting in amputations to both fingers.
An employee was running acrylic film through an automated winding machine which wraps film around a cardboard cylinder core. He noticed that the film had slipped off the winder. He went to the front of the machine to re-attach the film to the winder spool. His fingers got caught between the film and the spool and his left arm was pulled up by the winder spool. The employee was hospitalized with a broken left forearm. Another employee injured their shoulder when pulling the first injured employee out of the machine.
A driver was exiting his vehicle outside the plant gate when his foot slipped on the top step of the truck. He fell to the ground, landed on his left hip and elbow. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured hip/femur.
A security employee was responding to an urgent call from staff regarding a violent patient. The employee tripped and fell on the floor outside of the stairwell. The employee sustained a closed head injury, contusion of the cerebrum without loss of consciousness, and a closed fracture of the distal end of the right radius.
A temporary employee was testing an electrical starter motor. He was placing tape on the starter while the breaker was not engaged, but the starter sent an arc flash that burned his hands and stomach.
An employee was walking on a sidewalk and stubbed his toe on an elevated portion of concrete, causing him to trip and fall. The employee's right knee was dislocated.