Struck by suspended or swinging objects n.e.c. · Amputations involving bone loss
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, 4700 North 132nd Street, BUTLER, WISCONSIN 53007
on — Amputations involving bone loss, affecting the Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s).
Final narrative
A conveyor drive had been strapped to a lift for removal. As the drive was removed, the strap holding it shifted, causing it to swing. An employee's right hand was caught between the swinging drive and the frame of the conveyor, and the last joint of the little finger was amputated.
Amputation Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s) Drives, belts, chains
More severe injuries at Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation
A maintenance employee was called to look at a pallet conveyor machine where a chain had fallen off a sprocket wheel. When the employee grabbed the loose chain, a light sensor caused the machine to restart. This created a pinch point between the chain and sprocket that caught the employee's left little finger. The finger was surgically amputated at the second knuckle.
An employee was unjamming a box coming from a case sealer when their right hand was caught in a conveyor belt. Their middle and ring fingers sustained amputations to the second knuckle.
An employee had finished sharpening a knife on the grinding wheel and was returning it when he lost grip of the handle. As the employee reached to catch the it, his abdomen was lacerated by the knife blade in the right lower quadrant.
An employee was staging product on the shipping dock while operating a lift truck. As the employee was driving from the shipping dock to the finished goods warehouse, the lift controls began malfunctioning. The vehicle collided with a bollard and the employee's leg was caught between it and the vehicle, resulting in multiple leg, ankle, and foot fractures.
An employee was preparing the captive bolt handheld stunner to stun an animal when it dropped onto his leg and fired. The employee sustained a fracture to the left tibia and fibula.
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 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 using a crane to move a 44-foot, 3,343-pound I-beam. As the beam was moving west, it straightened out (north to south), beginning to swing south toward the northwest corner of a building. The crane then sent the beam southward, directly toward the corner of the building. The beam caught the tips of the employee's left index, middle, and ring fingers against the building. The last joints of the middle and ring fingers were amputated, and the last joint of the index finger was partially crushed.
An employee was placing a board on top of a bundle of steel tubing. A crane was moving a bundle of steel that struck the employee and caught them against another bundle of steel tubing. The employee sustained a crushing injury and hematoma to the right upper leg.
Employees were using a crane to lower large tree stems and branches while removing limbs and branches from the load. This caused the load to shift and strike an employee in the back, resulting in a hematoma on the lower left part of their back and a fractured ankle.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311612)
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was using a de-clipping machine to cut the metal clips off of sausage sticks. As the employee put a link of sausages into the machine, their hand slipped into the point of operation. A piston pinched the employee's left index finger, causing a partial amputation.
An employee was operating a small tabletop grinder in a food safety quality assurance lab. She was stuffing meat down the grinder's chute when the grinder caught her right hand. Its auger caused an amputation to her middle finger and a partial amputation to her index finger.
A maintenance employee was removing an inspection plate from an industrial cooker. Hot liquid spilled onto him and burned his hands, arms, and torso area. He was hospitalized.
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.