How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 71 severe cases involving the coccygeal region over the last decade. The vast majority of these incidents involve fractures, which often require significant recovery time and medical intervention.
Damage to your tailbone directly impacts your ability to sit, stand, and perform essential physical tasks. This injury can lead to chronic pain and long-term limitations that affect your ability to return to your previous job duties.
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Free Benefits ReviewHow these injuries happen
Most tailbone injuries occur when you fall to a lower level, which accounts for 58% of all reported incidents. These accidents frequently involve portable ladders or stairs where a loss of balance leads to a direct impact on the base of your spine.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Other fall to lower level | 39 |
| 2 | Fall on same level | 17 |
| 3 | Struck by falling object | 4 |
| 4 | Fall to lower level from collapsing structure or equipment | 2 |
| 5 | Collapse, engulfment— building or structure | 1 |
| 6 | Pedestrian struck by vehicle in road work zone | 1 |
| 7 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 1 |
| 8 | Contact with animals— n.e.c. | 1 |
Where injuries happen most
Construction accounts for 31% of these severe injuries, as the nature of the work often requires navigating elevated surfaces and unfinished structures. You face unique risks from unstable ladders and uneven flooring that can lead to sudden, high-impact falls.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents include falling from ladders while performing overhead tasks or slipping on uneven surfaces while carrying equipment. These reports show that even short falls can result in multiple fractures and extended hospitalizations. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you review the specifics of your incident.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | OH | Mining | "An employee was standing on a piece of equipment called a K-brace, approximately 3.5 feet off the ground. He was working to assemble part of the K-brace. He was driving a metal pin with a sledgehammer and put the sledgehammer on the ground. He then hopped off the K-brace backward and struck the handle of the sledgehammer as he came to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a laceration to his left buttocks and a fractured tailbone." | |
| 2025 | NY | Professional Services | "An employee was on a 6-foot A-frame ladder running data cables through a drop ceiling. The employee was descending the ladder to move to the next section of the ceiling when the ladder wobbled and the employee fell to the floor, sustaining spine/tailbone fractures." | |
| 2024 | AR | Manufacturing | "An employee was wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus while climbing a 12-foot ladder. He attempted to open a carbon dioxide line when his hands slipped and he fell to the ground, resulting in a fractured tailbone." | |
| 2024 | OH | Health Care | "An employee was assisting a client in their home when the client lost their balance and fell into the employee. The employee fell backward and landed on their tailbone on the floor. The employee was hospitalized with three fractures to their tailbone." | |
| 2024 | AL | Information | "An employee was installing a fiber optic cable at a customer location when he fell from his ladder to the ground. The employee sustained a fractured tailbone and a neck injury, and he was hospitalized." | |
| 2024 | AR | Manufacturing | "An employee was leaving the worksite at shift's end and slipped on the recently mopped lobby floor. The employee fell and fractured their tailbone." | |
| 2023 | FL | Manufacturing | "An employee was caught between two pipes, resulting in a broken tailbone." | |
| 2023 | NY | Real Estate | "An employee was on a 6-foot tall ladder painting a bathroom ceiling when they fell and injured their tailbone." | |
| 2023 | PA | Health Care | "An employee washed her hands in a sink. As she backed away from the sink, the employee tripped over the leg of a patient lift and fell to the floor. The employee sustained a possible brain hematoma and a fractured coccyx." | |
| 2023 | MA | Construction | "An employee was closing a roof hatch when the handle on the hatch slipped off. The employee then lost his balance and fell to a cement stairwell deck below. He sustained a tailbone fracture." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.