Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Amputations involving bone loss
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Marathon Cheese Corporation, 1000 PROGRESSIVE AVE, MEDFORD, WISCONSIN 54451
on — Amputations involving bone loss, affecting the Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s).
Final narrative
An employee was removing cheese product from the top of a conveyor belt. His right ring finger got pulled under the metal product guide rail at the edge of the conveyor and was pinched between the conveyor and the guide rail. The employee sustained an amputation of the fingertip between the first knuckle and the fingernail.
Amputation Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s) Conveyors belt, slot, chain
More severe injuries at Marathon Cheese Corporation
An employee was walking between two production lines when he tripped and fell over a pallet that had some equipment on it. The employee fell on his right side, resulting in a fractured hip and a possible thumb injury.
An employee was placing a flow control access cover on a slicer that was not locked out after troubleshooting it. While replacing the cover, the machine cycled and the traveling blade gate assembly passed the machine's framework and created a pinch point that caused a crush injury and laceration to the employee's left middle finger. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was preparing to straighten a photo proximity eye in a machine when their left index finger was pinched between a moving belt and a fixed component of the machine, resulting in a fingertip amputation. The machine was unguarded at the time of the incident.
While walking, an employee tripped over a 1.75-inch elevated metal edge protecting a floor scale. The employee fell to the floor and suffered a broken left hip.
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 424430)
An employee was lifting a crate of dairy product and felt severe back pain. The employee was hospitalized with a burst blood vessel in their lower back.
An employee was walking between two production lines when he tripped and fell over a pallet that had some equipment on it. The employee fell on his right side, resulting in a fractured hip and a possible thumb injury.
An employee was using a stand-up forklift to load a small box truck. As he was putting down a pallet to push it onto a truck, the weight caused the truck to move forward. This pulled the forklift forward and it dropped between the truck and the loading dock, causing partial amputations to their left little and ring fingers.
An employee was unloading product from a trailer onto a scissor lift. They stepped backward and fell approximately 5 feet from the scissor lift to the concrete floor, sustaining six broken ribs and a punctured lung.
An employee was closing the roll-up door on a semi trailer when his left ring finger became caught between two door panels, resulting in an amputation.
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.