Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Michael Foods, Inc., 58365 861 Rd, WAKEFIELD, NEBRASKA 68784
on — Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified, affecting the Thumb(s).
Final narrative
An employee was using an 8-foot metal pipe to remove a manure blockage at the transfer to an incline conveyer. The employee s left hand was placed on top of the pipe while removing the blockage. The pipe pushed their left hand into the wooden railing of the platform they were standing on, catching their thumb in a pinch point and resulting in partial amputation.
On July 24, 2021, an employee was cleaning egg-breaking machines with a corrosive chemical. The chemical burned the employee's knees and lower legs, and the employee was hospitalized.
An employee thought the motor for an interlock had kicked out. When he went to reset the contactor from within a control panel, it arc flashed and caused electrical burns to the employee.
An employee turned and caught his foot against a bollard post that was there to protect the equipment. He lost his balance, fell, and broke his hip. He was hospitalized.
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 112310)
Three employees were transferring a metal lid using a manual chain hoist to place it onto a cart. While they were adjusting its position, the lid shifted and the injured employee's left hand became caught between the hoist hook and the handle, resulting in a laceration and amputation of their ring fingertip including the tuft.
An employee was driving a farm truck with the dump box raised when he went through a farm building accessway and the dump box struck the entryway of the building. The truck lifted up and came back down, jolting the employee. The employee sustained a back injury.
An employee was doing housekeeping work inside a chicken house. The employee missed a step onto a walkway near the exit, fell into an 8-foot-deep pit, and landed on its concrete floor. The employee suffered a leg fracture above the ankle, as well as a chin laceration.
An employee was troubleshooting a manure belt to figure out why it kept turning off. The employee's right hand was pulled into the drive and compression roller of the long belt in the manure belt system, resulting in numerous injuries to their hand and forearm, including a partial amputation of the middle finger and a degloved palm.
An employee was hospitalized after he was found lying on a warehouse floor, bleeding from his nose and right ear. The employee sustained a depressed skull fracture on the right side of his head, multiple dislocated cervical fractures, a laceration to his right ear, a fracture to his right scapula tip, and wedge compression fractures to his T2 and T4 vertebrae.
An employee was stacking concrete blocks for a concrete bunker. As a block was swinging into place, the employee's left leg was pinched between two blocks, resulting in injuries to his left heel and lower leg.
An employee was climbing a ladder to inspect a vent in a restaurant dining area. The ladder slid out on the floor and the employee fell approximately 12 feet onto the ladder and the floor. He was hospitalized with a dislocated shoulder and a back injury.
An employee was filtering a fryer with a fryer filter machine. After going around the corner and then returning to the fryers, the employee stepped into the filter machine. The hot oil burned the employee's right ankle, and the employee was hospitalized.
An employee was cleaning out corn from a grain bin. The sweep auger in the bin was activated and caught his trouser leg. His leg was pulled into the auger, which injured his calf and caused leg fractures and lacerations.