The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined a Georgia pillow manufacturer for repeat violations after four accidents that left workers with amputated fingers..
Place Vendome Holding Co., operating as R&F Marketing, with a factory in Swainsboro, Georgia, has less than two weeks to contest or pay the $190,758 fine, OSHA said in a news release.
“Place Vendome once again exposed their employees needlessly to serious and life-altering hazards,” explained OSHA Acting Area Office Director Jose Gonzalez in Savannah, Georgia. “This ongoing disregard for the safety of their employees is unacceptable, and we will continue to hold them accountable until they follow all necessary federal requirements and take steps to protect workers at this facility.”
The citation stems from the amputation incidents dating back to December 2020:
A 22-year-old worker suffered an amputation and OSHA investigators found no lockout/tagout procedures to prevent machines from being turned at the wrong time.
Two months later, a machine operator had a finger amputated and nine fingers crushed. OSHA found the machine’s energy control locks had been removed.
A month after that, a worker was loading a pallet jack onto a truck when his hand was caught between the wheels of the jack, resulting in the amputation of one finger.
In April of this year, a worker’s hand was cut while attempting to clean fibers out of a motor.
An OSHA inspection found other violations at the site, including blocked and unmarked exit routes, materials stacked in an unsafe manner, and failing to keep fire extinguishers available and failing to train employees in their use.
Topics Workers' Compensation Georgia
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