BANGOR (AP) – A blueberry company is contesting more than $31,000 in fines it was assessed for alleged safety violations after a worker lost an arm in an accident last November.

The Bangor office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations in April against Allen’s Blueberry Freezer of Ellsworth and its sister company, R.T. Allen & Sons Inc.

The inspection followed an accident last Nov. 17 in which Conrad Peabody of Columbia Falls lost his arm while burning wild blueberry fields in Columbia.

Roy Allen, president of Allen’s Blueberry Freezer, met with OSHA officials during an informal conference in Augusta in July.

“The fines are still under contest,” said William Freeman, OSHA’s area director. “We issued the citations, and the employer had 15 working days to answer. He has the right to request an informal conference, and he did that.

“He contested the citations to keep his rights open. We are still working locally to resolve this.”

Allen did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Peabody was seriously injured when his arm became entangled after he got off his tractor to adjust the drive shaft of an attached burner.

Peabody was first treated at Eastern Maine Medical Center and then flown to Beth Israel West Hospital in Boston, where remained until Dec. 23.

Peabody’s injuries were extensive. His left arm is gone (he is right-handed), and his right arm was fractured. His left hip needed to be replaced, and the lower portion of his left leg had several breaks.

He also had 40 staples for cuts from his forehead to his ear. More than nine months after the accident, Peabody is two weeks away from receiving a prosthesis. He is walking without a cane, and his truck is fitted with controls that allow him to drive.

OSHA levied the fines against Allen’s for not having the required shields or other protective guarding placed on the tractor, the burner and other equipment.

Peabody said he isn’t pleased that he hasn’t heard from Roy Allen since the accident. In the meantime, he has started physical therapy appointments in Machias at the Down East Community Hospital.

“They say attitude is 90 percent of the battle,” he said as he worked with a therapist.