Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at El-Milagro, Inc., 2531 Dukane Drive, SAINT CHARLES, ILLINOIS 60174
on — Amputations, avulsions, enucleations unspecified, affecting the Other finger(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was wiping down a shredder machine while it was turned off. After she was finished cleaning, she turned the machine on when the rollers of the machine caught her fingers, resulting in amputations to her index, middle and ring fingers.
Amputation Other finger(s) n.e.c. Food and beverage processing machinery unspecified
On February 27, 2021, an employee was cleaning the conveyor belt system for a tortilla dough-making machine when their hand was caught between the moving belt and the steel roller resulting in fractures to the employee's left arm and hand.
An employee was cleaning and sanitizing a machine when the employee's fingers were caught between the wall of the shaft and the blade as the machine cycled. Several fingers on the employee's right hand were amputated. The machine was not locked out at the time.
An employee was pulling a pallet of product with a hand jack. The pallet was stuck to another pallet due to the plastic wrap. His right foot was then crushed by the wheel of the hand jack.
As an employee was removing tamales from the stove, the cooking tray tilted and the hot water contacted the employee, causing second degree burns on the lower right leg.
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 311830)
An employee was diagnosing the cause of a rear light malfunction on a forklift when the reverse gear engaged. The forklift moved backward and contacted the employee causing a metatarsal fracture in their left foot and injury to their lower right leg.
Two employees were changing fuses for a fryer. The pump on the fryer was turned off, but the heat exchanger kept running. When the pump was turned back on, hot oil shot toward the filter. The filter box opened and sprayed the two injured employees with hot grease. The employees suffered burns to their backs, shoulders, and arms.
An employee was inserting corn tortillas into a corn cutting machine. The machine's air piston released and came down onto her left thumb, resulting in an amputation.
An employee was clearing an obstruction in a conveyor when his arm was pulled into the rollers of the conveyor. He suffered lacerations to the left arm and was hospitalized.
An employee was adjusting the mesh conveyor belt on the flour tortilla process line when their right ring finger was caught between the actuating piston and the conveyor frame. The fingertip was amputated and the employee was hospitalized.
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.