Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Amputations involving bone loss
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, 3201 E. Hwy 400, DODGE CITY, KANSAS 67801
on — Amputations involving bone loss, affecting the Other finger(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
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.
HospitalizedAmputation Other finger(s) n.e.c. Conveyors unspecified
More severe injuries at Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation
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.
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.
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 311611)
An employee was scraping dried glue from the top lid of a hot glue pot. His left hand slipped and came into contact with the hot glue. He then suffered burns to his hands and fingers as he tried to remove the glue. He was hospitalized.
An employee was in a scissor lift approximately 20 feet above the ground to place a plastic tarp on a catwalk in order to catch condensation. They positioned the lift opposite the work area and stepped out of the scissor lift onto an I-beam. The employee fell from the I-beam to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a skull fracture on the right side of their head and injuries to the chest and both eyes.
The injured employee was standing by one of the stationary computers along the wall. There was a half-pallet located approximately 3 feet behind the employee that consisted of 12-pound boxes stacked six boxes high. A forklift was transporting a pallet that came in contact with the stationary pallet behind the injured employee, causing four boxes to fall and contact their legs. The injured employee was hospitalized with leg injuries.
An employee was using a box strapping machine to place straps on boxes when his right middle finger was caught in the machine, resulting in an open fracture to the distal phalanx.
An employee was working to remove a product blockage from a piece of equipment. The employee was struck by a metal bar near the deck of the pin mixer equipment and sustained blunt force trauma to the torso.
An employee was moving a rack onto a lower conveyor in the south heat treat area when their finger got caught between the part tray and the rollers, resulting in a fingertip fracture and amputation.
An employee was climbing a ladder to get on top of the breakroom. The ladder slipped, causing him to fall to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to his upper back, left foot, and ankle.
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.