Caught or wedged between objects nonrunning · Amputations involving bone loss
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Milk Specialties Global, 1756 South Buchanan Street, JEROME, IDAHO 83338
on — Amputations involving bone loss, affecting the Other finger(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was diagnosing the lack of flow of product to a powder bin. The employee removed the rotary star valve below the bin. While he was reinstalling the valve, his right middle finger was crushed between its shaft and its housing. The finger was partially amputated.
On January 13, 2023, an employee was inspecting a dock leveler when the dock leveler collapsed, pinning the employee between it and a semi-trailer. The employee sustained injuries to the head, jaw, collarbone, ribs, and lungs. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was placing a plastic sleeve on a filler tube when the ladder he was using moved, causing him to fall to the facility floor and fracture his skull and wrist.
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.
On October 30, 2025, an employee was working to adjust a stackable metal shipping container. As the container dropped into place, it caught the employee's hands in an area between the upper and lower cross-members. The employee suffered a laceration to the left ring finger that required stitches, bruising to the right ring finger, and fractures to the right middle finger that necessitated medical amputation of the fingertip.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was conducting routine maintenance on a mixer. New lid pins had been installed, and the employee was rotating by hand to ensure they had been installed correctly. The employee's left middle finger was caught between the lid and top of a pin. The momentum from the mixer continued, causing a crushing injury to the finger. The employee underwent a medical amputation from the top knuckle to the tip of the finger.
An excavator bucket was being removed. An employee was pulling a snap ring to remove a pin and lost his grip. The high-tension snap ring recoiled and his left middle fingertip was amputated by the snap ring.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311513)
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 changing an O-ring on a pneumatic valve. The employee had placed the valve on his work cart and was applying air to open the valve and access the O-ring. After changing the O-ring, the valve closed on his fingertip, crushing it. He was taken to the hospital, where he received an amputation.
An employee was using a pike to move a pallet of sugar that was stuck in the powder racking. The employee fell backward, landing on his right leg. The employee's leg was fractured and he was hospitalized.
The injured employee was carrying totes of cheese when they tripped over another employee's foot/ankle and fell to the cement floor. The injured employee sustained six fractured ribs on the left side and was hospitalized.
An employee was ascending an 8-foot ladder to clean an overhead conveyor when the ladder tipped over and the employee fell to the floor sustaining a concussion and broken vertebrae.
An employee was standing on a multi-purpose ladder installing head flashing over a window. Their feet were approximately 6 feet off the ground and three rungs from the top. The employee lost their grip on the drill they were using and the ladder tipped over. The employee fell from the ladder to the ground, resulting in a fractured left wrist, bruised chest, and lacerations to their face and lip.
An employee was inspecting the overhead area of a single-person lift and repositioning the lift through a double doorway. As they were transitioning through the doorway, they were caught between the doorframe and the vertical mast of the lift. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to the nose, left maxillary sinus, left orbital bone, and left jaw, with fractures at the maxillary sinus area.
An employee was loading a 4-inch wooden door into a pickup truck when he felt a pop in his right side behind his shoulder blade. He was hospitalized later that day and underwent surgery, having suffered a collapsed right lung.
An employee was helping clean the bag house. He checked under the auger in the dust collection system to feel for airflow. His right hand was sucked up into the auger blade, resulting in amputation of the middle finger to the distal joint. Surgery was required to amputate to the finger to the second knuckle.