The Daily Beast

Piggly Wiggly Fined After Grisly Meat Grinder Injury

Google Maps A Georgia Piggly Wiggly has been hit with nearly $200,000 in federal penalties after a worker lost four fingers while cleaning a commercial meat grinder. Investigators said the employee was cleaning the grinder at the grocery chain’s store in Bowdon, Georgia, on Jan. 29 when a co-worker accidentally stepped on the machine’s foot-control pedal, causing it to start unexpectedly and pull the worker’s hand into the equipment. The employee suffered the amputation of four fingers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) later cited the store for a willful violation, alleging it had bypassed safety guards designed to protect workers from dangerous moving parts and flying debris. The agency also issued a serious violation for failing to implement proper hazardous-energy control procedures intended to prevent machinery from unexpectedly starting during maintenance or cleaning. A third violation was issued after the store failed to report the amputation to OSHA within the required 24-hour timeframe. Federal regulators have proposed $196,251 in penalties. The store has 15 business days to either comply with the citations or formally contest the findings. Read it at People Read more at The Daily Beast.