Inspection Detail

Inspection: 308386937 - Trembling Prairie Farms

Inspection Information - Office: Madison Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 9:20 a.m. on October 16, 2006, Employee #1 was working on a farm where potatoes were grown or at a produce company where potatoes were processed. She and several coworkers were unloading potatoes from a wagon at the produce company, where the potatoes were to be stored in preparation for cleaning and packaging. The potatoes were brought to this facility in a potato wagon and then transferred onto a conveyor that carried them into the building. The conveyor was built into the floor of the potato wagon that carried the potatoes out onto the "bin piler." This conveyor was driven by a hydraulic motor. With the wagon nearly empty, Employee #1 stood adjacent to the wagon's conveyor to remove by hand remaining potatoes that the conveyor could not remove. The hydraulic motor powering the conveyor was in this immediate vicinity, 36 inches above ground level. A shaft connecting the motor to the conveyor was not guarded, and Employee #1's right arm became entangled in this shaft. Coworker #1, helping to unload the wagon, saw Employee #1's arm become entangled in the shaft. Both employees were wearing several layers of clothes and gloves. Coworker #2, operating the equipment, shut off the power after the accident occurred. Employee #1 sustained multiple fractures, and her arm was amputated above the elbow. She was hospitalized. Her arm could not be reattached.

Keywords: FRACTURE, AMPUTATED, ROTATING SHAFT, AGRICULTURE, FARM MACHINERY, CAUGHT BY, CONVEYOR, ARM, ENTANGLED, UNGUARDED