3 Strikes & You?re Out for Employer with Repeat Machine Amputation Incidents

Federal OHS inspectors ordered a grain processing facility to take measures to deal with machine hazards after a worker lost a finger in a machine incident. Six years later, another worker suffered partial finger amputation in another machine incident’he was trying to unclog a blockage in a spray system. A few weeks later, still another worker lost parts of 3 fingers in a similar incident at another company site. Different site, but same hazards and same results. After being hit with 9 OHS charges, the employer decided to plead guilty to one, namely, failing to attach guards to machines with exposed moving or rotating parts, and was fined $70K [La Meunerie Milanaise Inc., Govt. Press Release, March 25, 2019].