Food manufacturer to pay $298K in penalties after worker suffers amputation

Hostess Brands LLC is being investigated by OSHA following a workplace injury. The employee, who was reassembling a pump at the company’s Chicago facility, suffered a fingertip amputation. Following their investigation, OSHA reported that the injury could have been avoided if the company had taken proper measures to ensure that equipment was shut down and locked out before conducting maintenance. OSHA also discovered that employees were not trained on lockout/tagout procedures. In addition, the company failed to make sure shafts, sprockets and moving parts on equipment had the necessary guarding in place to protect workers. Hostess Brands faces $298,010 in fines for one willful violation, one repeat violation, and five serious violations. 

In a recent quote, Chicago North OSHA Area Director Sukhvir Kaur in Arlington Heights said, “OSHA frequently finds that amputations and other injuries occur when manufacturers fail to make sure machine safety procedures are followed and employees are trained properly. Employers can spare their employees these kinds of painful injuries by complying with OSHA and industry-recognized safety standards.”