Severe Workplace Injuries in Ottawa, Illinois
Employers in Ottawa reported 17 severe work injuries to OSHA from 2016 through July 2024: 12 workers hospitalized and 8 amputations (47% of reports). Manufacturing accounts for the most reports. OSHA opened an inspection after 10 of them.
Reports by year
Industries
How workers were hurt
Parts of the body injured
OSHA inspections in Ottawa since 2015
Workplace safety inspectors opened 89 inspections at Ottawa workplaces, and 55 of them (62%) ended with at least one violation. Inspectors cited 152 serious, 0 willful and 4 repeat violations, with current penalties totaling $331,018.
Rules cited most often:
Recent inspections with penalties
| Employer | Violations | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Mbl (USA) Corporation (referral, details) | 1 (1 serious+) | $6,000 |
| Miranda Construction Services, LLC (planned, details) | 3 (2 serious+) | $47,286 |
| Estes And Minasian Company (planned, details) | 2 (2 serious+) | $6,950 |
| Mbl (USA) Corporation (referral, details) | 1 (1 serious+) | $9,500 |
| Denis Erazo (referral, details) | 2 (2 serious+) | $5,000 |
| Itw Zip-Pak (referral, details) | 2 (2 serious+) | $8,067 |
| Ottawa Barge Terminal, Inc. (referral, details) | 11 (7 serious+) | $24,000 |
| Sabic Innovative Plastics U.S. LLC (referral, details) | 2 (2 serious+) | $16,131 |
| Petsmart Distribution Center (complaint, details) | 3 | $24,000 |
| Marseilles Sheet Metal Co. (referral, details) | 1 (1 serious+) | $3,125 |
| L A Brooker Construction Co. (planned, details) | 2 (1 serious+) | $4,400 |
| Sigan America, LLC (complaint, details) | 4 (4 serious+) | $15,000 |
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 17 newest severe injury reports from Ottawa employers, as OSHA published them.
Jul 23, 2024 · MBL (USA) CORPORATION Amputation
An employee was feeding fabric between two rolls on a calendar machine when his fingers were pulled into the nip point. The first three fingers on his right hand were crushed. The employee was hospitalized and required surgical amputation(s).
Caught, entangled in running powered equipment normal operation · Other finger(s) (other) · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1770925
Apr 16, 2024 · All About Personnel Amputation
A temporary employee was loading a truck using an electric pallet jack and amputated their left little finger.
Struck by running powered equipment · Other finger(s) (other) · Administrative, staffing and waste services
Mar 15, 2024 · ITW Zip-Pak Amputation
An employee was operating the winder and became entangled in the zipper line as it was wrapping around the spool on the winding machine. The employee sustained a left middle finger amputation as well as a laceration, bruises and contusions, and was hospitalized.
Caught, entangled in running powered equipment normal operation · Other finger(s) (other) · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1753654
Nov 22, 2023 · Ottawa Barge Terminal Inc Hospitalized
After moving a barge lid, an employee was walking down the stairs on the barge when they slipped and fell approximately 15 to 20 feet, reuslting in a head injury.
Fall on water vehicle · Brain · Transportation and warehousing · OSHA inspection 1712369
Sep 5, 2023 · SABIC Innovative Plastics U.S. LLC Hospitalized
An employee was removing a baffle in a decant tank for cleaning when a flash fire occurred. The employee sustained burns to both upper and lower extremities as well as the left cheek and lips.
Fire · Multiple body parts (other) · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1697091
Mar 1, 2023 · MBL (USA) CORPORATION Hospitalized
An employee was operating a calender machine. The employee climbed on top of the machine and was struck by a bucket that is used to move rubber. They became pinned between the machine and the bucket, resulting in broken ribs and a fractured vertebra that required hospitalization.
Caught in running equipment or machinery · Multiple body parts · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1655968
Mar 24, 2022 · Pilkington North America Inc Amputation
Two employees were dumping obsolete glass inventory. They were working with a wooden crate of glass, held together by bands, on a fork truck. While one employee was cutting the bands, the release of tension caused the package to come down on the other employee's little finger, amputating the fingertip.
Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Fingertip(s) · Manufacturing
Jul 29, 2021 · MBL (USA) Corporation Hospitalized
On July 29, 2021, an employee working in a hot process area began to feel nauseous and was later hospitalized for heat stress.
Exposure to environmental heat · Body systems · Manufacturing
Feb 3, 2020 · Kroger Store #933 Hospitalized
While getting out of her car, an employee slipped and fell to the parking lot ground. She suffered a broken arm and was hospitalized.
Fall on same level due to slipping · Arm(s) · Retail
Oct 2, 2019 · Sigan America, LLC Amputation
On October 2, 2019, an employee was adjusting the torque on a bottle-capping machine. His right index finger was caught in the running belt and pulley and the tip was amputated at the first joint.
Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Fingertip(s) · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1436762
Aug 21, 2019 · Republic Services Inc. Hospitalized
An employee was stung on the neck by an insect while collecting garbage, requiring hospitalization.
Bites and stings · Body systems · Administrative, staffing and waste services
Apr 24, 2019 · Grainco FS Inc. Amputation
An employee was filling and sealing 50-pound bags of fertilizer. The employee was correcting the alignment of a bag going into the sealer unit when his right middle finger was caught. He suffered a fingertip amputation.
Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Fingertip(s) · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1397262
Dec 26, 2018 · Nestle Hospitalized
An employee had just delivered product to a transfer station. He was on his way back into his truck when a dock plate gave way and he fell between the truck and the loading dock. A powered pallet jack fell with him and struck him in the face, fracturing his face and cheeks.
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment less than 6 feet · Multiple face locations · Transportation and warehousing · OSHA inspection 1369203
Dec 3, 2018 · MBL USA CORPORATION Amputation
An employee on the production line suffered a fingertip amputation when their finger was caught between a roller and a belt while grinding automotive belts.
Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Fingertip(s) · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1366131
May 24, 2018 · MBL (USA) CORPORATION Amputation
An employee was loading liner onto a machine when the chuck mechanism pinched a finger. The fingertip was amputated.
Caught in running equipment or machinery during regular operation · Fingertip(s) · Manufacturing · OSHA inspection 1319659
Jan 25, 2017 · Mediacom Communications Corp. Hospitalized
An employee fell while replacing a service drop and suffered broken bones.
Other fall to lower level · Nonclassifiable · Information
Sep 13, 2016 · SABIC Innovative Plastics US LLC Hospitalized
An employee was descending a stairway while carrying two cardboard boxes in her left hand. She missed the last step above a middle landing and fell onto the landing. Both of her feet were bent backwards, fracturing both ankles and requiring surgery.
Other fall to lower level less than 6 feet · Ankle(s) · Manufacturing
After a workplace injury in Illinois
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 Illinois
Lawbamba lists 858 workers compensation lawyers with an office in Illinois, 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 Ottawa?
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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.