OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221422140
VCA ANIMAL HOSPITALS INC.
WALNUT CREEK, CA·
Event description
Employee develops infection after being bitten by cat
Investigation abstract
At 6:15 p.m. on December 5, 2021, an employee working at a Veterinary Hospital wound was cleaned and she was released with antibiotics on the same day. The employee developed an infection and returned to the Emergency Room on December 6, 2021, at which time she was admitted for two days and treated with intravenous antibiotics. was attempting to remove a patient (cat) from a kennel to provide Veterinarian prescribed treatment. The animal had been examined shortly before being placed in the kennel and was wrapped in a 'burrito' blanket to keep it calm; however, the employee noted that the animal had urinated in the blanket. The employee unwrapped the animal and 'scruffed' it (grasped it by the scruff on the back of the neck) which was a standard method of control, while attempting to change the blanket. The animal rotated in the grasp of the employee and bit her right hand thumb and index finger. The employee was seen in the Emergency Room where the
Victim
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 25 F
- Event type
- 3
- Occupation code
- 86
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.