Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Surface, flesh wounds and burns, electrical injuries
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Sofidel America, 176 W.L. Runnels Industrial Drive, HATTIESBURG, MISSISSIPPI 39402
on — Surface, flesh wounds and burns, electrical injuries, affecting the Hand(s) and arm(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was monitoring a vibration sensor on a marrying roller when their arm got caught between a rubber roller and a brush roller. The employee sustained scrapes and burns on their left arm and hand.
Hospitalized Hand(s) and arm(s) n.e.c. Rollers, calenders, dryers paper production
On 6/8/2022, at 10:00 AM, a rewinder operator was clearing a tissue jam at the rollers when the reset button at the control panel was activated. The operator's left middle finger was caught between the rollers resulting in partial amputation of the finger.
An employee was using an overhead crane to return a spent parent roll to a stand. The roll bounced and smashed his left middle and index fingers against the crane hook. Both fingers were crushed and cut, and the middle finger was amputated to the first knuckle.
On June 21, 2019, at 11:30 a.m., an employee's right index fingertip came in contact with a sharp object while threading paper into the two-fold napkin machine causing an amputation injury.
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 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.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 322299)
An employee was clearing a jam and cleaning up loose paper. Her left hand was caught by a rotating cylinder and pulled into the score section in the tower of an envelope machine. Her hand was crushed and multiple fingers were amputated.
An employee's hand was inside a machine when residual energy caused a heavy metal part to fall on their hand. The employee sustained a left index finger amputation.
An employee was troubleshooting a broken belt on a beveling machine when his left index finger was caught in a partially guarded chain and sprocket mechanism, resulting in a partial fingertip amputation just below the fingernail.
On March 28, 2025, an employee was changing a printer blanket and got caught by the printer's rollers resulting in amputation of their left index finger.
An employee was checking a pole-type transformer tank for leaks. A hydraulic clamping device was lowered onto his right thumb and crushed it against the sharp edge of the bottom of the tank. He suffered a partial transphalangeal amputation to the thumb.
The injured employee was standing behind a table. She jumped out to scare another employee, but tripped and fell on the tile floor, injuring her right ankle/foot. She was hospitalized with a dislocated ankle that required surgery.
An employee was going into a trailer to mark product for shipment and the trailer pulled away from the dock. The employee fell out of the trailer, contacted the dock plate, and then fell to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a punctured lung, fractured ribs, and contusions.
An employee was hooking up bundled tie-downs with a chain. While he was holding a hook, the other hook was unlocked. This caused the employee's hook to slide down and pinch his right index finger between the chain and the shackle. He suffered an amputation to the fingertip (without bone loss), as well as an open fracture.
An employee was operating a gas tugger to lift metal sheeting. His left hand was pulled into the pulley, which crushed his left thumb, resulting in avulsions and other tissue damage. He was hospitalized and required surgery.