Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1575163.015 - Superior Truck Lines, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Fresno District Office

Investigation Summary

At 10:30 a.m. on January 5, 2022, Employee #1 was in the process of transferring the milk commodity from the dairy silos to the milk tanker unit. Employee #1 was connecting all of the necessary hoses from the silo to his tanker truck. Employee #1 arrived to the dairy and parked his truck. He opened the dome on the tanker unit. Employee #1 then went inside the dairy and took temperature readings. He then proceeded to connect all of the necessary hoses to transfer the milk from the dairy silo to the tanker unit. Employee #1 connected the silo hose to the back of the tanker. He opened the valve of the back of the tanker unit by pulling the handle and inserting a safety pin to keep the valve open. Employee #1 then went back to the dairy silo and opened the silo valves to allow the milk to flow. Employee #1 then turned on the pump from the dairy to start transferring the product. After Employee #1 finished with the first silo, he then proceeded to extract more milk from a second silo (silo#2); therefore, he turned off the pump and closed the valve from the tanker unit by pulling the safety pin out. Again, he connected all the hoses, and when he went back to the tanker unit, Employee #1 pulled the handle on the back of the tanker unit with his left hand to insert the safety pin to keep the valve open. However, the valve was not completely open. Employee #1 tried to open the valve with his left hand, when the valve closed; thus, causing partial amputation of the middle and index finger on his left hand. The employer contacted emergency services and they transported Employee #1 to the Kaweah Delta Hospital in Visalia, CA. Emergency services transferred employee #1 to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno for treatment of his injuries. Employee #1 was treated and released, and he did not stayed overnight at the hospital. The incident was caused by employee inattention.

Keywords: Amputated, Amputation, Finger, Hose, Inattention, Partial Amputation, Silo, Valve