Amputation Leads to $65,900 in OSHA Penalties against Farmer's Cooperative

An accident that resulted in the amputation of all of the toes on a worker's left foot prompted the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to propose $65,900 in penalties against the Beattie Farmers Union Cooperative in Beattie, Kansas. OSHA said Beattie failed to place locking devices on augers in grain storage bins. When the 35-year-old worker was cleaning one of the bins in August 2014, someone inadvertently turned the auger on, entangling the worker and shearing off his toes. OSHA cited Beattie for one willful, one repeated and three serious health and safety violations. ...