How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 123 severe incidents involving the nose over the last decade. Fractures are the most common nature of injury, representing 76 percent of all reported cases, which often require surgical intervention and extended recovery time.
Damage to your nasal structure can lead to chronic breathing difficulties, permanent disfigurement, and long-term sinus issues. These injuries frequently disrupt your ability to breathe comfortably, perform physical labor, and maintain the quality of life required for your trade.
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Free Benefits ReviewHow these injuries happen
Falls are the primary driver of nasal trauma, with falls on the same level accounting for 24 percent of all reported incidents. Whether you slip on wet floors or trip over debris, these events often result in direct facial impact against hard surfaces like concrete or metal, leading to immediate and severe nasal fractures.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fall on same level | 29 |
| 2 | Other fall to lower level | 19 |
| 3 | Struck by propelled object or substance | 16 |
| 4 | Struck by falling object | 13 |
| 5 | Hitting, kicking, beating by other person | 11 |
| 6 | Struck by suspended or swinging object | 5 |
| 7 | Nonroadway noncollision incident | 3 |
| 8 | Struck against stationary object | 3 |
Where injuries happen most
Construction leads all sectors with 20 percent of reported nasal injuries, followed closely by manufacturing at 20 percent. In these environments, you face constant exposure to falling objects, pneumatic tool ricochets, and unstable walking surfaces that frequently cause sudden, high-impact facial trauma.
Real cases like yours
Many reported incidents involve sudden, high-force impacts where you have little time to react, such as falling down stairs or being struck by swinging equipment and tools. These scenarios often occur when safety protocols regarding floor maintenance or machine guarding are overlooked. 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 | WI | Health Care | "An employee was walking out of a walk-in freezer while carrying items from the shelves. She tripped and fell on the floor, sustaining a fractured and lacerated nose as well as bruising/lacerations to her face. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Construction | "An employee was installing plywood on a roof when a nail that shot out of a pneumatic nail gun ricocheted off another nail and struck him in the upper nasal area." | |
| 2025 | KS | Mining | "An employee was replacing a seized gearbox on an oil well using a breaker bar. After the breaker bar broke the gearbox loose, the bar struck the employee in the face, causing a fractured nasal bone and a laceration from the crown of the nose to above the right eye. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | MO | Arts & Entertainment | "An employee was holding open a door while holding keys when he lost his balance on the landing and fell down the concrete stairs. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to his face and shoulder, as well as a fractured nose." | |
| 2025 | TX | Mining | "A crew was running rods in the hole when the chain on the rod transfer broke and fell to the rig floor. The chain struck the injured employee on the hard hat and whipped underneath the hard hat and struck the employee above their nose, causing a fracture and laceration. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Real Estate | "An employee was removing a ratchet binder from a trailer. The binder had been raised using a forklift fork and was under tension when he struck it with a mini-sledgehammer. It came loose and struck him on the nose, breaking it." | |
| 2024 | PA | Manufacturing | "An employee was behind an upright shield guard. He was raking 12-foot-long U-channel bars into a pile as they were kicked off a gauge table. In between kickoffs, the employee stepped to the side to approach the pile. The next set of bars were contacted by the kickers at the same time the gauge came down on the bars. This caused a bar to fly toward the employee instead of falling. The employee was struck on the bridge of the nose, resulting in a laceration and a fracture requiring surgery. A guard was in place at the time." | |
| 2024 | FL | Construction | "An employee was operating a stressing jack when the cable detached from the jack and struck him in the face. The employee sustained facial lacerations and a fractured nose." | |
| 2024 | FL | Construction | "An employee was operating a floodlight boom when it collapsed downward due to a faulty interior boom cable. The employee was struck by the light assembly mast and sustained an avulsion to their nose and head trauma, resulting in hospitalization and surgery." | |
| 2024 | FL | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was moving freight to the back of a trailer for the forklift operator to unload in the parking lot when they lost their footing and fell 44 inches from the back of the trailer to the ground, resulting in a contusion to the back of their head and a subdural sinus fracture." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.