A San Martin winery worker who lost most of his right leg when he was caught in equipment used to make wine has been removed from the intensive care unit and is recovering from his injuries, company officials said Thursday.
Dan Gallegos, director of human resources with ASV Wines, said the employee, 20, will require more surgeries to help him recover from the limb's amputation, performed Monday night at the winery by a three-person surgical team from Valley Medical Center in San Jose.
Gallegos said company officials are evaluating all operations at the winery to make necessary changes to ensure the tragedy doesn't occur again.
"We're very distressed about this very unfortunate incident. We strive to maintain a safe and healthy work environment and have maintained an excellent safety record at this facility," Gallegos said.
"While it's difficult to get into the details of what we're doing and what we have done, I'll tell you we have been cooperating fully with Cal-OSHA in their continuing investigation," he added.
Gallegos said as soon as fellow co-workers learned of the accident at 9:47 p.m., they immediately called 911 and firefighters arrived within five minutes. "They were quick to respond. Our staff worked cooperatively with the first responders to take the appropriate action and stabilize the employee," he said.
Gallegos declined to explain what exactly caused the accident and said the investigation will reveal exactly how the employee's leg got caught in the machinery. "No one really saw what happened so it's still to be determined."
Mike Van Loben Sels, battalion chief with the South Santa Clara County Fire District, said firefighters were alerted to the accident shortly before 10 p.m., at the ASV Wines located at 12805 Llagas Road.
When the first engine arrived firefighters found the employee with his right leg stuck in an auger, a large metal wine cask and spiral screw used for grinding the grapes down to make wine, Van Loben Sels said.
"He was stuck all the way down to his hip level," Van Loben Sels said. "His leg was stuck in there … He was trying to open a door to one of the things that holds wine and he slipped and his leg got caught in the machine."
Firefighters determined there was no way to remove the man, who was conscious, Van Loben Sels said, so they disassembled the machinery as much as possible and requested a surgical team from Valley Medical Center in San Jose. He was eventually sedated to allow doctors to amputate the leg, he said.
"The leg had to be amputated about the mid thigh level," Van Loben Sels said.
The surgical team, led by Dr. John Sherk, chief trauma surgeon, and anesthesiologist Dr. Barry Waddell, removed the leg and transported the man to the hospital via Calstar, Van Loben Sels said.
Ten firefighters responded to the accident.
Hospital spokeswoman Amy Carta confirmed they had admitted a patient to the hospital after the surgical team amputated the limb. Carta would not release the man's name, citing the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Erika Monterroza, a spokeswoman for Cal-OSHA, the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health, said they were informed about the accident at 10 p.m. Monday evening. She confirmed Cal-OSHA is investigating an accident in which an employee of ASV Wines lost his leg using equipment in the wine making process. The information was received at 2 a.m. and an investigation was opened Tuesday morning, she added.
"Cal-OSHA is investigating the incident," Monterroza said. "We can't comment, however, on an open investigation."
The company has had no prior safety violations according to a Cal-OSHA database search.
Monterroza said Cal-OSHA by law has to complete the investigation in six months, but it's normally completed in two to three months. She added an investigator will conduct a site inspection at the winery, determine if any machines were involved in the accident and do a thorough review of the machinery plus conduct interviews with the employer, co-workers and, if necessary, send different equipment involved in the accident for laboratory analysis.
Once all that information is gathered, Cal-OSHA will determine if there were any safety or health violations that may have contributed to the incident, she said. If that were the case, citations would be issued and a correction plan created to address the issues that led to the accident so the tragedy doesn't occur again, she said. Penalties could also be assessed, she said.
Once the investigation is complete, the findings could be turned over the District Attorney's Office for a criminal investigation, she said.
"We're truly grateful to everyone, rescue personnel, medical providers, company employees, firefighters ... It's because of their cooperative efforts that our employee survived this tragic incident," Gallegos said. "The employee is stable and progressing."
The San Martin winery, owned by ASV Wines, has been in operations for approximately 10 years, Gallegos said, adding that the worker's medical expenses and rehabilitation will be covered under worker's compensation.
The employee, Gallegos said, is a seasonal general winery employee who's worked at the company for the past two years.
Sheila Sanchez Sheila Sanchez is the editor of the Morgan Hill Times. She can be reached at ssanchez@morganhilltimes.com.
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