Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1389860.015 - Clarks Mills Dairy Farm, Llp

Inspection Information - Office: Appleton Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 4:00 p.m. on March 31, 2019, an employee was working in the milking parlor of a farm, which serviced a herd of 800 cows. There were eight groups of cows, separated by their maternity status. Two other coworkers were also working in the milking parlor. The milking process involved workers spraying the cows with a foam teat dip onto their utters, applying a milking apparatuses, reapplying the teat dip manually, and moving any strangler cows out of the parlor as needed. As each group of cows were went through the process, an employee would open up pen gates to bring in the next group for milking. While servicing the cows from Group 7, there was an issue with the cows filling the east side of the milking machines. The employee and her coworkers were unable to arrange the cows properly between the milking machine and the pneumatic railing, which was designed to hold the cows heads in position during milking. After raising the pneumatic railing to release the cows out into an open concrete pad that was adjacent to the milking machines, some cows did not leave the milking area as intended. As the employee walked from the milking pit to the concrete pad to move the lingering cows, one cow struck her in the chest/torso. The two coworkers came to the aid of the employee, who had fallen to the ground and was knocked unconscious. Emergency services were contacted and, upon arrival, the employee was transported to a nearby hospital. However, the employee died in route to the hospital as a result of compression injuries she had suffered to her chest cavity when struck by the cow.

Keywords: Animal, Chest, Struck By