Black River Commodities, LLC

An employee was cleaning a screw conveyor with a shovel. He slipped into the auger, and the conveyor lacerated the arch of his right foot and broke some bones. He was hospitalized, requiring surgery.

An employee unhooked a grain wagon from a pickup truck. The wagon began to roll, and the employee's right ring and middle fingers were caught between the concrete ground and a piece of wood being used to stop the wagon from rolling. The employee underwent a revision amputation.

An employee was inspecting a generator whose radiator was leaking. He slipped, and a fan blade in the generator amputated his thumb and index finger.

A temporary employee turned off a planer machine, opened the housing, and began clearing a jam. The machine's spinning blade caught his right hand and degloved the index finger.

An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.

A casting machine jammed. An employee's hand was caught in the machine, where a belt line caught and amputated the tip of his finger.

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.

On November 21, 2024, at approximately 7:55 a.m., an employee was getting onto a manlift on the fourth floor while holding two scoop shovels. As he stepped onto the lift, the shovels got caught on the floor, causing him to slip off the step and grab the floor. The employee fell to the concrete third floor, resulting in 4 fractured right ribs and 3 fractured left ribs. He also dislocated his right shoulder.

An employee was exiting a manlift when his left foot slipped and he fell off the manlift step, fracturing his pelvis.

An employee was riding a manlift up from the ground floor when they fell several feet from the manlift to the floor. The employee sustained a fractured left femur.

An employee was changing out a flex hose at a soaking tank when part of a T-valve burst on the soaking tank, resulting in burns to their torso from the hot water.

An employee was preparing to check fuses when an arc flash occurred, resulting in burns to his face and hands.

An employee was operating an ironworker (steel punching/shearing) machine. A piece of the tooling broke off and struck the employee's neck; a fragment was lodged in his neck. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

On October 25, 2025, an employee was stringing up a new reel of tire tread on a machine. The employee pulled a 6-inch tail and proceeded to spool up the liner. As the machine was jogged to begin the liner wrapping process, the liner caught the employee's glove and pulled their right arm into the liner, causing a fracture to the arm.

An employee was doing a cable change on top of an electric overhead traveling (EOT) crane. They were positioned between the cable drum and the drive shaft. While rotating the cable drum, the employee reached for the new cable that was to be installed. The grease fitting on the drive shaft caught their fall harness and pulled them underneath the drive shaft. The employee was pinned between the drive shaft and two pieces of angle steel, resulting in a fracture to their left hip.

An employee was helping two other employees to push a pallet of tile on a loading dock. He suffered a broken fibula and was hospitalized.

On October 5, 2025, an employee was pulling a pressure washer hose when it it disconnected from the cooker. The employee was struck by jets of high-pressure water, resulting in lacerations to their left thigh requiring surgery. The employee was hospitalized.