Caught, entangled in running powered equipment normal operation · Amputations involving bone loss
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc., 617 S D Street, MONMOUTH, ILLINOIS 61462
on — Amputations involving bone loss, affecting the Thumb(s) and finger(s).
Final narrative
On May 20, 2025, an employee was in a one-person aerial lift to take an environmental swab near an exhaust fan mounted in an exterior wall approximately 15 feet high. As they were taking the sample, the swab was pulled into the fan along with the employee's right hand, resulting in amputations of the thumb and the index and middle fingers.
Amputation Thumb(s) and finger(s) Fans, blowers wall, floor, ceiling, ventilation
More severe injuries at Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc.
Two employees were troubleshooting a palletizer. The injured employee was clearing the work area when the machine was cycled and their right leg was caught in the machine. The employee sustained a fractured ankle.
On June 21, 2024, a maintenance employee was setting up a palletizing machine preparing for the plant to resume production following a planned shutdown. The employee attempted to correct the machine's location by kicking it into position. The employee lost their balance and fell to the floor, fracturing their pelvis. The employee was hospitalized.
At 2:06 a.m. on February 3, 2023, an employee was cleaning an extruder system. The employee accessed the second-level work platform to open the lids to access the auger screw used to transfer raw food to the food conditioner. As the employee was using a water hose to clean the auger, their left hand slipped from the auger's housing and into the auger opening. The auger amputated four of the employee's fingers below the first knuckle and the employee was hospitalized.
An employee was guiding a forklift operator through the warehouse with a work platform when the work platform became caught on a pallet of animal food and slid off of the forks of the forklift and on top of the employee. The employee suffered a dislocated left shoulder and possible shoulder fracture.
An employee was operating a metal roller machine to roll a small piece of metal. The employee's right index finger became caught between the metal and the machine, and the fingertip was amputated.
An employee was working on a production line. The employee went to retrieve parts that came out of the parts holder, and their left hand became caught between a chain and a sprocket. Three fingers on the hand were amputated.
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 pad printer. The employee's finger was caught in the printer and they suffered a fingertip amputation. The part of the printer that caught the employee's finger was unguarded at the time.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311111)
An employee was working to remove a spatula that got stuck in an auger at the bottom of a hopper. The employee went to remove the face plate to help release the spatula. His fingers were in the holes to pull off the face plate when the machine actuated. His right middle finger got trapped between the face plate and the inner plate, resulting in amputation.
An employee was walking in a parking lot during break when they were struck by a vehicle, resulting in fractures to their left scapula and lower right leg.
An employee bent down to turn on an air valve, lost their footing, and struck their hand on a pressure relief valve while trying to catch themselves. The employee suffered an amputation to their right index fingertip.
An employee was working on a production line, packaging chews for animals. She retrieved a fallen cap for another production line from the floor and went to put in back in the machine it had fallen from (a capper). The machine caught the tip of her left little finger, causing a fingertip amputation.
An employee was taking apart the piping to a meat pump for clean-up. He saw food debris inside the pump housing and went to remove it. The meat pump rotor caught and severed his right index and middle fingertips, resulting in partial fingertip amputations.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.