Missouri Man Sues After Workplace Accident Leads to Amputation

A northwest Missouri man has filed a civil lawsuit for a workplace accident that resulted in the loss of his lower arms.

The News-Press Now reports that Brent Sherman was a sanitation worker responsible for cleaning blenders and other meat-processing equipment in use at the Hillshire Brands plant in St. Joseph when the February 2015 accident occurred.

The lawsuit says Sherman was cleaning the blender when it suddenly started without warning. Sherman’s forearms got caught in the machine. He sustained bilateral arm amputations below his elbows.

The lawsuit seeks medical expenses, disability and incapacity, pain and suffering and loss of employment for life, among others.

None of the parties have responded to the lawsuit except for Hillshire’s sanitation department superintendent, who maintains the suit doesn’t set forth allegations against her.

According to a 2016 OSHA report on the impact of its severe injury reporting program, Sherman’s injury was one of 2644 amputations reported in 2015. As a result of the new reporting requirement, the employer re-engineered the blender’s computer control system, changed safety interlocks and revised worker training and supervision.