Severe Workplace Injuries in Fort Valley, Georgia
Employers in Fort Valley reported 24 severe work injuries to OSHA from 2015 through March 2025: 16 workers hospitalized and 8 amputations (33% of reports). Manufacturing accounts for the most reports. OSHA opened an inspection after 7 of them.
Reports by year
Industries
How workers were hurt
Parts of the body injured
OSHA inspections in Fort Valley since 2015
Workplace safety inspectors opened 26 inspections at Fort Valley workplaces, and 18 of them (69%) ended with at least one violation. Inspectors cited 44 serious, 0 willful and 2 repeat violations, with current penalties totaling $280,773.
Rules cited most often:
Recent inspections with penalties
| Employer | Violations | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Bird South Co. (referral, details) | 1 (1 serious+) | $16,550 |
| Bluebird Body Company (referral, details) | 3 (2 serious+) | $19,357 |
| Blue Bird Corporation (referral, details) | 3 (3 serious+) | $15,626 |
| Hsm Transportation Solutions (referral, details) | 2 (2 serious+) | $4,916 |
| Hsm Transportation Solutions (planned, details) | 3 (3 serious+) | $9,832 |
| Blue Bird Corporation (referral, details) | 2 (2 serious+) | $26,520 |
| Southern Orchards Management (referral, details) | 1 (1 serious+) | $7,160 |
| Pearson Farm (fatality/catastrophe, details) | 12 (8 serious+) | $66,000 |
| Blue Bird Corporation (referral, details) | 3 (2 serious+) | $46,989 |
| Havecon Greenhouses, Inc. (programmed, details) | 2 (2 serious+) | $6,208 |
| Jb Walker Homes, LLC (programmed, details) | 3 (3 serious+) | $7,540 |
| Metokote Corporation (complaint, details) | 1 (1 serious+) | $4,262 |
Penalties as currently recorded by OSHA; they can drop after settlement or contest. Inspection data covers federal OSHA inspections and state-run safety program inspections reported to OSHA.
Most recent reports
The 24 newest severe injury reports from Fort Valley employers, as OSHA published them.
Mar 19, 2025 · Gordon Food Service Douglasville Distribution Center Hospitalized
An employee was unloading frozen food product from a freezer truck. They slipped on the ramp from the trailer and fell to the ground below. The employee was hospitalized for a fractured right wrist and C7 vertebra.
Other fall to lower level · Trunk and other upper extremities · Wholesale trade
Oct 10, 2024 · Bluebird Body Company Amputation
A carriage bus was in the process of being built and an employee was connecting it to a tow bar so it could be moved to a different area in the assembly line. The employee's finger got caught between the tow bar and the carriage, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
Contact incidents · Finger or thumb tip(s), nail(s) · Manufacturing
Feb 10, 2024 · Bluebird Body Company Amputation
An employee was operating a brake press to break a short steel part and amputated a finger on his right hand at a knuckle.
Caught, entangled in running powered equipment normal operation · Other finger(s) (other) · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1730190
Feb 1, 2024 · Construction Specialties, Inc. Amputation
An employee was cleaning out a feed tube when their left ring finger was caught in a hopper on the air solenoid actuator, resulting in amputation of the finger.
Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Other finger(s) (other) · Manufacturing
Oct 5, 2023 · Blue Bird Corporation Amputation
The injured employee was installing fan belts and alternators. Another employee came into the work area with a torque gun and began poking the injured employee with the tip of the torque gun and then activated the tool. The spinning tip of the torque gun caught the injured employee's left glove and amputated her middle finger.
Injured by physical contact during horseplay · Finger(s), fingernail(s) (other) · Manufacturing
Oct 2, 2023 · HSM Transportation Solutions Hospitalized
A truck driver had climbed into the back of a trailer and reattached the trailer door seal. As he was climbing back down, his foot slipped and he fell to the parking lot surface. The employee sustained a fractured right hip requiring hospitalization and surgery.
Other fall to lower level · Hip(s) · Manufacturing
May 16, 2023 · BLUE BIRD CORPORATION Hospitalized
An employee was moving a manlift away from a truck when it struck a power line. The employee sustained electric shock.
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway · Body systems · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1672260
Feb 11, 2023 · Blue Bird South Co. Hospitalized
An employee was moving the die onto the press head when the foot pedal was bumped and the employee's right hand was caught between the press and the die, resulting in open fractures to the middle, ring, and little fingers.
Caught in running equipment or machinery · Finger(s), fingernail(s) · Manufacturing
Dec 13, 2022 · BLUE BIRD CORPORATION Amputation
An employee was operating a lathe machine to sand a bolt. The emery paper became caught on the bolt, pulling his right hand into the bolt and twisting his thumb. His right thumb was surgically amputated.
Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Finger(s), fingernail(s) (other) · Manufacturing
Jan 6, 2022 · Patten Seed Company LLC Hospitalized
An employee had finished operating a farm tractor. When he opened the tractor door, a gust of wind caught the door and caused the employee to fall to the ground, resulting in a broken left femur.
Other fall to lower level · Thigh(s) · Agriculture, forestry and fishing
Apr 8, 2021 · GENERAL SHALE Hospitalized
An employee was walking through the production floor when she lost her balance and stepped between a transfer car and the transfer car pit wall, resulting in a horizontal scrape to the outside of her left calf.
Other fall to lower level · Lower leg(s) · Manufacturing
Feb 16, 2021 · ICA STAFFING LLC Hospitalized
An employee was working on a box-making machine. The machinery caught his arm and severely injured it.
Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Arm(s) · Administrative, staffing and waste services
Oct 23, 2020 · Blasingame Pressure Cleaning Hospitalized
An employee was working from an extension ladder. The ladder's feet slipped and the employee fell to the floor 8-10 feet below, suffering a broken knee. The employee was hospitalized.
Other fall to lower level 6 to 10 feet · Knee(s) · Administrative, staffing and waste services
Oct 7, 2020 · Blue Bird Corporation Amputation
An employee was cutting conduit with a portable electric saw. The tool bounced and the blade reached the employee's left hand, amputating part of the last joint on the index finger.
Injured by slipping or swinging object held by injured worker · Finger(s), fingernail(s) · Manufacturing
Oct 23, 2019 · Blue Bird Corporation Hospitalized
An employee was working in a scissor lift, replacing the ground wire in an electrical box. The employee came into contact with the live wire and an arc flash shocked the employee with 480 volts, causing first- and second-degree burns to the employee's face and arms.
Direct exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts · Multiple body parts (other) · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1446165
Jul 28, 2019 · Southern Orchards Management Hospitalized
A maintenance employee was attempting to repair a dripping A/C unit on top of a mezzanine when he fell 9 feet through a drop ceiling, suffering a head injury, broken ribs, broken vertebrae, and a concussion. The mezzanine was not fully guarded at the time of the incident.
Fall through surface or existing opening 6 to 10 feet · Multiple body parts · Retail · OSHA inspection 1424078
Feb 13, 2019 · Blue Bird Body Company Amputation
An employee was observing/testing a five-spindle nut runner machine (wheel torque wrench) after preventive maintenance was completed and suffered a partial thumb amputation after contacting one of the five rotating spindles. The employee was wearing gloves at the time.
Caught in running equipment or machinery (other) · Finger(s), fingernail(s) · Transportation and warehousing · OSHA inspection 1380135
Nov 10, 2017 · GENERAL SHALE Hospitalized
An employee was directing a forklift operator in placing a motor. The forklift operator was moving the motor into position and the employee was rotating the motor to align the bolt holes when the lifting eye backed out of the motor. The motor shifted and fell, and the employee jumped a guardrail to get away from the falling motor. The guard rail was 42" affixed to a platform that was 25" off the concrete floor. The employee suffered a fractured tibia below the knee upon contact with the floor, requiring hospitalization.
Other jump to lower level less than 6 feet · Lower leg(s) · Manufacturing
Oct 1, 2017 · Blue Bird Corporation Hospitalized
An employee was coming out of a bus and saw something laying on the ground. He was stepping to the side to miss the object when he fell and twisted his ankle, fracturing it and requiring hospitalization.
Boarding, alighting-excluding slip, trip, fall-single episode · Ankle(s) · Transportation and warehousing
Sep 1, 2017 · Blue Bird Body Co. Hospitalized
An employee was working on a die machine when the die fell out of the machine and struck the employee's knee, causing bruising and swelling.
Struck by object falling from vehicle or machinery-other than vehicle part · Knee(s) · Manufacturing
Jul 27, 2016 · BLUE BIRD CORPORATION Hospitalized
On 7/27/16, at 10 p.m., an employee began to feel unwell and experienced cramping in his hands. He was hospitalized due to possible dehydration.
Exposure to environmental heat · Body systems · Manufacturing
Jun 24, 2015 · Blue Bird Corporation Hospitalized
An employee suffered a heat-related injury while working when he started to cramp. His condition became critical by the end of his shift. He suffered renal failure and was hospitalized on 6/24/15.
Exposure to environmental heat · Body systems · Construction
May 5, 2015 · BLUE BIRD CORPORATION Amputation
On 5/5/15, an employee was operating a bending machine when his right pinky finger got caught in the clamping mechanism. He sustained an amputation of the first pinky finger digit.
Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Finger(s), fingernail(s) (other) · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1061491
Mar 9, 2015 · BLUE BIRD CORPORATION Hospitalized
An employee was disassembling an HVAC unit on the roof when he fell through a skylight.
Fall through surface or existing opening · Nonclassifiable · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1045901
After a workplace injury in Georgia
Most work injuries are handled through workers' compensation, which pays medical bills and part of lost wages whether or not anyone was at fault, and usually rules out suing the employer. A separate claim may be possible against someone else, such as an equipment maker or another company on the site. Reporting deadlines are short, so tell your employer about an injury right away.
Workers compensation lawyers in Georgia
Lawbamba lists 680 workers compensation lawyers with an office in Georgia, the practice area that deals with the workplace injury and OSHA inspection records on this page. These 4 come first in that listing (how the order is set).
Matched by practice area and office location only. These lawyers are not connected to the records on this page and have not reviewed or endorsed it.
Hurt at work in Fort Valley?
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Source: OSHA's Severe Injury Reports, 2015 through November 2025 (loaded November 9, 2026). Employers must report any work-related amputation, loss of an eye or in-patient hospitalization to OSHA within 24 hours. Employer names, addresses and incident descriptions are as OSHA publishes them. A report records an injury, not a finding that the employer broke a rule; OSHA opens an inspection for some reports. The data covers workplaces under federal OSHA. States that run their own OSHA program (such as California, Washington, Michigan, North Carolina and Virginia) are mostly missing, and work-related deaths are reported separately.
Lawbamba is not affiliated with OSHA or the Department of Labor, and this page is general information, not legal advice.