Back in 2008 Publix Supermarkets Inc. was cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for safety violations at a Dacula, Georgia, location. Now, the company is facing 16 safety and health violations. Some of these are also repeat violations, and come after a devastating workplace accident resulted in an employee losing their hand.

The amputation accident happened back in September. At the time, a worker was cleaning conveyor equipment at the company's fresh food facility.

This workplace accident prompted an investigation, which ended up with OSHA finding 16 violations. The federal agency is proposing $182,000 in penalties to Publix.

Of those alleged OSHA violations, two repeat violations were for not developing, documenting or having lockout/tagout procedures in place. These violations carry with them $66,000 in penalties.

A lockout/tagout procedure makes sure that equipment cannot suddenly be turned on during maintenance or repairs.

Additionally, the company was also found to be in violation of safety procedures that control energy going to equipment when workers are servicing or cleaning that equipment.

As of now, Publix does plan on appealing OSHA's findings. However, the company has come out and said that figuring out what went wrong to lead to September's workplace amputation injury is still a priority.

Either way, a worker losing a hand is still a very traumatic experience, and one that surely changes a person's life forever. However, regardless of whether the company was at fault or not, the fact remains that the accident did happen while the worker was cleaning conveyor equipment.

In these types of accidents, where a worker is hurt while doing their job, there is always the chance that the worker will be eligible to receive workers' compensation.

Source: Tallahasee Democrat, "Update: Publix says it will appeal OSHA citations in safety case," Dave Hodges, Feb. 15, 2012