Safeway Worker in Denver Loses 4 Fingers in Workplace Accident

The Albertsons company, which owns Safeway, has been cited for seven safety violations that contributed to the worker's injury.

You never like hearing about serious injuries that happen to people while trying to earn an honest living. OSHA has been investigating the incident that happened in February of 2021 and found serious violations in the operations at this milk processing facility.

According to CBS4 Denver/The Denver Post, the worker was injured when a machine 'cycled' while she was adjusting it, slicing off four of her fingers.

I tracked down the OSHA report about the incident and got more on what Albertsons/Safety is facing in light of the workplace accident.

OSHA violations include:

• Failing to implement procedures for the control of hazardous energy, including failing to develop and implement lockout/tagout procedures to prevent machines from operating unintentionally.
• Inadequate machine guarding.
• Oil leaks on the floor exposing workers to slip and trip hazards.

In a statement from OSHA, they lay it out pretty clearly that Albertsons/Safeway dropped the ball:

Safeway Inc. knew its equipment lacked safeguards, yet the company chose to let work continue without regard to workers’ safety....This indifference caused a worker to suffer a serious and permanent injury.

'They let work continue... '  How many times have you heard that when it comes to these kind of accidents? Maybe you've heard a family member or a friend say, 'I told them about it, and they just shrugged it off; somebody's going to get hurt.'

OSH and the Department of Labor have cited the company with over $330,000 in fines due to the violations. There's been no information released regarding what compensation the worker will receive after the 'amputation' of her four fingers.