How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 2,899 severe ankle injuries, with fractures representing 82% of all reported incidents. These cases involve significant trauma that often requires surgical intervention and extended periods of immobilization.
An ankle injury directly compromises your ability to walk, stand, or operate heavy machinery. This loss of mobility frequently prevents you from performing essential job functions, leading to significant wage loss and long-term physical limitations that require professional legal evaluation.
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Free Benefits ReviewHow these injuries happen
Falls are the primary driver of ankle trauma, with other falls to a lower level accounting for 30% of all reported incidents and falls on the same level accounting for 27%. Whether you are stepping off a ladder, navigating uneven surfaces, or being struck by moving industrial vehicles, these events often stem from employer failures to maintain safe walking surfaces or enforce proper traffic patterns for heavy equipment.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Other fall to lower level | 847 |
| 2 | Fall on same level | 770 |
| 3 | Struck by falling object | 216 |
| 4 | Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area | 165 |
| 5 | Nonroadway collision with object other than vehicle | 139 |
| 6 | Nonroadway noncollision incident | 87 |
| 7 | Struck by rolling powered vehicle or machinery | 84 |
| 8 | Slip, trip, stumble on same level— without fall | 72 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing leads all sectors with 18% of severe ankle injuries, followed by transportation and warehousing at 17% and construction at 17%. These environments rely heavily on constant movement and the use of powered industrial trucks, which frequently pin or strike you in high-traffic zones, leading to severe fractures and crushing injuries.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports involve you being struck by powered industrial trucks or losing your balance on uneven surfaces while performing routine tasks. Many incidents occur when you are pinned between equipment or fall after stepping into unexpected gaps in the floor. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you review the specifics of your incident to determine if employer negligence contributed to your injury.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | NY | Manufacturing | "An employee was unwrapping a pallet of empty buckets. The employee stepped backward and was struck by a powered industrial truck carrying a pallet of bucket lids, resulting in a left ankle fracture." | |
| 2023 | TX | Administrative Services | "An employee was patrolling a store using an electric patrol scooter when they lost their balance and sustained an ankle fracture." | |
| 2023 | OK | Health Care | "An employee was entering a work station when her knee struck the desk and caused her to lose consciousness. The employee hit her head on the desk and fell from her chair to the floor. The employee sustained two fractures to an ankle." | |
| 2023 | PA | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was exiting a trailer for it to be loaded when their right ankle was pinned between a piece of angle iron that was anchored to the floor and a long pallet being pushed by a powered industrial truck (PIT). The employee sustained an ankle fracture and was hospitalized." | |
| 2023 | MA | Transportation & Warehousing | "On December 23, 2023, an employee was backing a piece of mail transport equipment (MTE). They stepped backward as a fork truck was passing by and the forks of the truck contacted the employee's right ankle, resulting in injury." | |
| 2023 | MO | Administrative Services | "An employee was walking back to her workstation. A forklift reversed a short distance, then completed a U-turn and struck her, running over her lower extremities. She was hospitalized with a broken ankle." | |
| 2023 | FL | Retail Trade | "An employee was using a standing forklift to pick product at ground level. He stepped off the vehicle to get an item from the bin. As the employee stepped back, his left foot contacted the pallet and his right foot became stuck between the pallet slats. He fell to the ground and sustained an ankle fracture." | |
| 2023 | FL | Agriculture | "An employee was tightening a bolt on a plow when they lost balance and fell to the ground. The employee sustained two fractures to their left ankle." | |
| 2023 | FL | Retail Trade | "An employee was carrying furniture backward during a delivery when he tripped and broke his right ankle." | |
| 2023 | WI | Wholesale Trade | "Employee 1 was operating a lift in a standing position. Employee 2 was operating a cherry picker and backing up through an aisle. The lift collided with the cherry picker and employee 1 fell off the lift after striking his right ankle on a wooden pallet that was on the cherry picker. The employee sustained a broken ankle." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.