A bakeware company is facing nearly $200,000 in fines after 2 workers required amputations due to workplace injures
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- An Ohio-based bakeware company is facing fines of almost $200,000 after two workers suffered major injuries.
- The workers both experienced what the Labor Department described as "amputation injuries."
- OSHA cited the company for one willful and five serious violations, urging safety reforms.
A Cleveland, Ohio-based metal bakeware company is facing $182,000 in fines after two employees suffered injuries that resulted in amputations.
According to a press release by the US Department of Labor, the first incident at G&S Metal Products Co., which was founded in 1949, occurred on June 25, 2024, when a 37-year-old worker was using a power press.
As the staff member serviced the machine, the press cycled without warning because its pullbacks were not properly secured, inspectors from the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said. This contributed to the amputation injury.
Two weeks later, a 64-year-old worker who had been employed by the firm four months previously suffered an amputation injury when clearing scrap from a mechanical power press.
The machine's die closed unexpectedly because it lacked necessary guarding and was not locked out to stop operation during maintenance, OHSA said.
No further detail about the exact nature of the injuries was shared publicly.
G&S Metal Products did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Business Insider.
OHSA ultimately found that G&S Metal Products Co. did not equip its machinery with adequate guarding, did not enforce vital safety protocols — such as enforcing proper lockout/tagout procedures — and did not provide sufficient training to workers in machine safety.
It cited the Ohio company for one willful violation and five serious violations, resulting in $182,000 in proposed penalties.
"These two workers must live with permanent injuries because their employer failed to ensure that adequate guarding was in place," Howard Eberts, the OSHA area director in Cleveland, said in a statement.
"G&S Metal Products Co. Inc. must take immediate action to evaluate and address machine safety across its operations," he added. "Employers have an obligation to adhere to basic safety standards to ensure every worker returns home safely."
In 2017, the firm was also cited after an employee suffered amputation injuries while adjusting a power press.