How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 272 severe cases involving your jaw over the last decade. Fractures account for 81 percent of these incidents, often requiring extensive medical treatment and lengthy recovery periods.
Damage to your jaw impacts basic functions like eating, speaking, and breathing. These injuries frequently lead to permanent dental issues or chronic pain that can limit your ability to return to your previous role.
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Free Benefits ReviewHow these injuries happen
Most jaw injuries occur when you are struck by objects or suffer falls. Being struck by propelled objects accounts for 16 percent of cases, often involving heavy machinery or equipment failure. Other common scenarios include falls on the same level or being hit by CO-workers.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Struck by propelled object or substance | 42 |
| 2 | Hitting, kicking, beating by other person | 38 |
| 3 | Fall on same level | 30 |
| 4 | Other fall to lower level | 22 |
| 5 | Struck by falling object | 20 |
| 6 | Struck by suspended or swinging object | 19 |
| 7 | Injured by object handled by person | 12 |
| 8 | Struck by propelled, falling, or suspended object— unspecified | 10 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 28 percent of these severe jaw injuries. The high concentration of heavy machinery and fast-paced assembly lines creates significant risks for facial trauma. Construction follows closely, where you face hazards from falling materials and elevated work surfaces that frequently result in severe impact injuries.
Real cases like yours
Many reported incidents involve sudden, high-force impacts that occur during routine tasks like moving equipment or navigating job sites. These reports often highlight failures in safety protocols or environmental hazards, such as unsecured overhead structures or tripping risks. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you review the specifics of your incident to determine your legal options.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | NJ | Wholesale Trade | "An employee had clocked out and was waiting for a ride when he stepped off a curb and fell forward onto the ground. The employee sustained a fractured jaw, requiring hospitalization and surgery." | |
| 2025 | PA | Construction | "An employee was moving an aerial lift across the mechanical room when he struck a hanging duct structure. The employee sustained lacerations to the face and a fractured jaw." | |
| 2025 | TX | Utilities | "On 6/11/2025, a lineman was removing a dead tree off of a powerline that had fallen due to thunderstorms. The employee cut the top of the tree to lessen the weight of the tree. He then hooked a jib line to the tree to lift it off the power line and place it on the ground. As he was moving his bucket into position, the tree shifted and fell, and the powerline released its tension. This caused a whipping effect and either the power line or the jib rope struck the employee's jaw. The employee was hospitalized with two fractures to his lower jaw." | |
| 2025 | SC | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was delivering a package to a house when a dog came through the storm door, jumped on the employee, and bit them in the lower jaw." | |
| 2025 | WI | Manufacturing | "An employee was working on a motorized screen when they fell approximately 3 feet from a step ladder to the ground. The employee sustained a face contusion and a fractured jaw." | |
| 2025 | MA | Construction | "An employee was cutting with a miter saw when it bounced back and cut his chin, resulting in hospitalization." | |
| 2025 | CT | Finance & Insurance | "An employee was walking in the office area when she tripped on cables on the floor. She fell and struck her face against the corner of a wall, resulting in a severe laceration to her jaw." | |
| 2025 | NY | Construction | "An employee was installing a metal plug into a machine. He was using a wrench to turn the metal plug a quarter turn more when the round plug weighing approximately 2 pounds failed and blew off from pressure, striking the employee in the face. The employee sustained facial lacerations and a fractured jaw." | |
| 2025 | FL | Construction | "An employee was conducting a pressure test of sewer laterals. The pressure gauge dropped to 0 PSI. The employee checked the pipe and wiggled it. A 6 to 8 inch pipe shot out of the ground and struck the employee's jaw/chin. The employee sustained a fracture to the jaw and a laceration to the bottom of the chin. The employee was hospitalized. " | |
| 2025 | FL | Construction | "An employee was walking around the site, inspecting the progress of a newly started project. The job was in the foundation stage and the upright rebar of the footings had just started to get placed and tied into the footers. The employee stepped over one of the footings and tripped. He landed on an upright rebar that punctured his lower jaw." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.