PROVIDENCE — The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration yesterday cited a Lincoln manufacturing company for failing to adequately safeguard a high-speed machine in which a Guatemalan illegal immigrant became trapped and gravely injured. OSHA also cited the company for failing to properly train the worker and proposed total fines of $21,000.

Leonardo Cos Elias lost his leg, buttock and half his pelvis as a result of the accident last December at Packaging Concepts Ltd. at 15 Wellington Rd. The 32-year-old former subsistence farmer remains in a wheelchair at a Massachusetts rehabilitation hospital, where he is being fitted for a prosthesis that might help him use crutches, his lawyer said.

Cos’ accident was the most serious of more than 125 accidents and injuries documented at the company since 2000, according to OSHA records. Injuries ranged from minor to disabling, such as cuts and sprains, crush injuries and punctures of the fingers and hands, severe lacerations and several broken bones.

The company, which manufactures display cases and furniture, reached three settlement agreements with OSHA since 2002 and paid at least $28,650 in fines for exposing workers to potential carcinogens and machinery hazards, among other violations.

Cos’ lawyer, Stephen J. Dennis, said the citations issued yesterday “show gross negligence on behalf of the employer,” but said the fines fell short of what he’d hoped for.

“Twenty-one thousand dollars for almost killing a person, and taking his leg and hip off, is not enough,” said Dennis. “I was hoping to see a shutdown of the business until they completely comply with OSHA regulations and a penalty 10 times more than this.”

A lawyer for Packaging Concepts said warning signs had been posted on the machine. Cos’ native tongue is Ki’ché — a Mayan dialect — but he does not read or write in any language.

Lawyer Marc Zaken issued this statement:

“PCL regrets the terrible accident involving Mr. Cos and wishes him the best in his recovery. There is a sign on the machine that warns of the danger of getting injured by the moving table. There is a closed gate on the machine that has a sign that warns of the danger of going behind the gate. Mr. Cos was unfortunately behind the gated area where he was injured by the moving table.

“PCL has been cooperating with OSHA and has taken even further measures to protect against any future accidents of this type. PCL declines to comment further on the OSHA citations as the matter is still pending.”

OSHA cited the company for failing to adequately guard the “nip points” of the machine Cos was working at when he became pinned between its moving tables, failing to guard a danger zone where employees could come in contact with router heads and bits while the machine was operating and for not properly training Cos in the energy control procedures of the machine.

OSHA proposed $7,000 fines for each of the “serious” level citations, defined as those in which there is substantial probability that death or serious harm could result and that the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard.

During its six-month investigation, OSHA also found that an emergency stop device — such as a trip wire — was not installed on the machine within reach of its cutting heads and that the routing machines were being used without formal training and documentation.

No citations were issued in the latter two findings because OSHA standards do not apply. But in a “letter of significance,” OSHA asked the company to develop an operating manual for the routers, train its employees accordingly and evaluate the procedures at least yearly.

OSHA area director Patrick J. Griffin, based in Providence, said the company has the right to contest the citations and a final conference is tentatively scheduled for the end of this month.

Cos, who arrived in the United States illegally in 2006, was hired by CoWorx Staffing Services, a firm in Providence that provides temporary workers, and placed at Packaging Concepts.

Dennis, the lawyer representing Cos’ workers’ compensation interests, said CoWorx has been paying compensation benefits of $245.49 per week that he is entitled to under Rhode Island law, plus current and future medical costs.

Friends told The Journal that Cos started off sweeping floors, then began operating the router, a high-speed machine that can cut metals, acrylic and wood while simultaneously engraving intricate designs.

kziner@projo.com