Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120261268 - Health Valley Company

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

At 6:30 a.m. on April 3, 2000, a serious injury occurred at the Health Valley Company in their bakery area. The employer is engaged in nutritional food manufacturing. At the time of the accident, a production supervisor and Employee #1, a mechanic, were testing the operation of a dough bowl lift after maintenance mechanics had finished repair of the lift. The production supervisor pushed the button to start the lift. The bowl lift started moving upwards but the safety gate was open at that time. The safety gate has to be closed before starting the lift. Employee #1, who was standing back, came forward and tried to close the gate by pushing the handle down just as the bowl lift was pushing the gate upward. As Employee #1 tried to grab the handle, his left middle finger got caught between the handle and a support bar on the gate. The production supervisor stopped the lift, but it was too late. The accident resulted in the amputation of Employee #1's left middle finger. Employee #1 stated that it happened so quickly that he could not pull his hand out. Right after the accident Employee #1 was taken to the Irwindale Industrial Clinic. He was released the same day and was referred to a specialist. Surgery was performed on his finger on April 4, 2000.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FOOD PREPARATION, FINGER, CAUGHT BETWEEN, SAFETY BAR