The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (or OSHA) fined Bright Oaks Meat, Incorporated for violations after an employee's hand was pulled into the blades of a tenderizing machine.
A female employee had to get 60 stitches on her right hand after the August incident. The meat tenderizer she was using had no safety guard. Darla Harris is co-owner of Bright Oaks Meat. She says the guard on this particular machine was made of plastic and constantly broke.
Harris: "So we just didn’t worry too much about the guard. Which we should have, but we didn't. So now, since then we have had our own guard built and designed out of aluminum so that, you know, it can't happen again."
Harris says meat cutting is a dangerous job but in their 32 year history, this is the worst accident the company has seen. She says they called an ambulance immediately but failed to report the overnight hospitalization to the state. Harris claims she did not know that was required within the first 24 hours.
OSHA fined the company $7,850. Harris says it's been paid in full. And the injured employee is returning to work after Thanksgiving.
Copyright 2013 KLCC
