Fall on same level unspecified · Paralysis, paraplegia, quadriplegia
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at United Natural Foods, Inc., 423 North Reading Rd, EPHRATA, PENNSYLVANIA 17522
on — Paralysis, paraplegia, quadriplegia, affecting the Exterior and musculoskeletal structures of the neck.
Final narrative
An employee was moving pallets into the freezer when they lost their footing and fell on their back. The employee sustained an injury to his upper back/lower neck area and was diagnosed with central cord syndrome.
Hospitalized Exterior and musculoskeletal structures of the neck Other constructed surface
More severe injuries at United Natural Foods, Inc.
An employee was dismounting a pallet jack. Their left hand was on the throttle to help balance themselves. As they got down, the pallet jack drove into their leg, resulting in an injury to their Achilles tendon and hospitalization.
On August 30, 2025, an employee was operating an electric double-pallet jack. He was coming out of the new extension through the separation curtains when his pallet jack struck an electric forklift. The forklift landed on the employee's right foot, fracturing the big toe and second toe.
An employee was loading pallets of food into a trailer with an electric ride-on pallet jack. The pallet jack became stuck after the employee placed a pallet in the trailer. Once freed, it became unbalanced and pinned the employee's left foot against the trailer wall. The foot was broken.
An employee was operating a forklift when it struck racking and their hand was caught between the forklift and the racking. The employee was hospitalized with a broken hand that required surgery.
The office had just closed, and an employee was finishing at her desk. A vendor arrived to perform their services. The employee unlocked the door for the vendor and proceeded to walk backward away from the door while talking to the vendor. She fell backward and landed on her hip. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured hip.
An employee was coming from the parking lot at the start of his shift. He fell while walking in the crosswalk and sustained pain and numbness in his right leg. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee fell to an office floor, landing on her right side and suffering a broken hip, a broken right arm, and a concussion. She was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 424410)
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was picking items from the freezer section of the warehouse. When he stepped down onto the floor, he turned on the planted foot, and felt a "pop" and pain in his knee. The employee was hospitalized with a dislocated knee and two torn tendons. He required surgery to repair the tendons.
At 7:40 a.m. on October 3, 2025, an employee was unloading a bulkhead at a dock door. As he pulled the bulkhead out of a trailer, its plastic lip caught on the dock plate, causing the employee to fall and twist his left leg, knee, and hip. The hip was broken and he was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.