How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 5,070 severe cases involving you being caught between or compressed by equipment over the last decade. Amputations account for 77% of these incidents, representing some of the most life-altering injuries you can face on the job.
The danger is concentrated in your hands and fingers, which account for 86% of all reported injuries. These events often result in permanent loss of function, requiring extensive medical intervention and long-term rehabilitation for you.
Common injuries
These injuries typically occur when safety guards are missing, bypassed, or improperly maintained on industrial equipment. You are often caught when steadying metal materials, clearing jams in threading machines, or working in close proximity to moving cranes and powered vehicles. When a machine lacks proper lockout or guarding, even a momentary lapse in focus can lead to a crushing injury.
| Injury Type | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amputations, avulsions, enucleations | 3,896 |
| 2 | Fractures | 512 |
| 3 | Traumatic injuries or exposures— unspecified | 381 |
| 4 | Cuts, lacerations, punctures without injury to internal structures | 128 |
| 5 | Severe wounds or internal injuries and other injuries | 49 |
| 6 | Injuries to internal organs and major blood vessels | 28 |
| 7 | Bruises, contusions | 18 |
| 8 | Intracranial Injuries | 8 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 42% of these severe incidents, as the high volume of automated machinery and heavy raw materials creates constant exposure to pinch points. Construction follows, where the dynamic nature of the job site and the use of heavy lifting equipment like cranes frequently place you in the path of moving parts.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports involve you assisting with heavy loads or clearing machine jams when equipment suddenly shifts or cycles. Whether it is a finger caught between metal sheets and a rail or a limb pinned by a moving crane, these incidents often stem from a failure to isolate energy sources or provide adequate physical barriers. 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 | Manufacturing | "A temporary employee was helping a forklift operator by holding metal sheets to steady them as they were placed on a rail for feeding to a stamp machine. The operator lowered the forks with the blanks (weighting approximately 750 pounds). The temporary employee's right index finger was caught between the metal and the feeding rail. The finger was crushed and partially amputated through the bone." | |
| 2025 | LA | Construction | "An employee was performing maintenance work on two gantry cranes located on an elevated trestle rail system. He was performing his work from the basket of a scissor lift that was positioned between the cranes. One of the cranes moved southward, pinning the basket and the employee against the other crane. The employee suffered three broken ribs on his left side and a lacerated kidney, resulting in hospitalization." | |
| 2025 | CO | Professional Services | "An employee was assisting a forklift operator with dumping trash into a trash compactor when the forklift crushed his right-hand fingers against a guardrail. The employee's little finger was partially amputated." | |
| 2025 | NJ | Utilities | "An employee was using a pipe threading machine to thread a 2-inch diameter gas pipe during the rebuilding of a gas meter. The pipe was in a vise mounted on the back of the crew truck. A few pieces of metal chips or shavings caused the threading machine to jam. The employee started to back the pipe up, but it jammed in that direction as well. While reaching to pull the handle back up into place to try and start again, the machine rotated about an inch and pinched his middle fingertip against the edge of the truck s back step. The employee's fingertip was partially amputated without loss of bone." | |
| 2025 | FL | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was placing a support block onto a truck bed to provide support for a unit of material. A forklift that was lowering a unit of lumber onto the truck bed crushed the employee's little finger, resulting in the amputation of most of the distal phalanx of the finger." | |
| 2025 | IL | Manufacturing | "An employee was working with a pallet bagger, trimming excess corrugate off a tray. The load was raised on a lift table. The scrap being trimmed activated the lift table's photo eye, causing the table to lower. Its frame pinched the steel toe of the employee's left boot between a bracket and the concrete. The employee suffered fractures in the left foot and was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | MS | Manufacturing | "An employee was ascending in an aerial lift. He was pinned between the lift's control panel and the hull of a ship, suffering injuries to the liver and spleen." | |
| 2025 | TX | Utilities | "An employee was ascending the wind tower when their right arm was caught between the lift and the ladder. The employee sustained a right elbow injury and was hospitalized. " | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "An employee was emptying bulk bags/sacks of lime into a lime pit. A sack fell into the lime pit. The employee was directing an excavator to pick it up when the excavator struck the employee, fracturing their left ankle against a concrete barrier." | |
| 2025 | OH | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was operating a battery extractor for a powered industrial truck and was grabbing the battery when the mass from the extractor pushed back. His right middle fingertip was pinched between the battery and the extractor resulting in amputation at the first knuckle." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.
Frequently asked questions
Seek immediate medical attention to stabilize your injury and document the event with your supervisor as soon as possible. Once you are stable, it is vital to secure all medical records and accident reports, as these will be essential for your Workers' Compensation claim. An attorney can help you organize this evidence to ensure your claim is filed correctly.
Employers are strictly required to maintain machine guarding under OSHA standards to prevent contact with dangerous moving parts. If a guard was missing or bypassed, this may constitute a significant safety violation that strengthens your claim for benefits. An attorney can help you investigate whether your employer failed to meet these safety obligations.
Workers' Compensation is designed to provide medical coverage and disability benefits for permanent injuries, including the loss of a digit. The amount of compensation often depends on the severity of your injury and the resulting impairment rating assigned by a physician. An attorney can help you understand how these benefits are calculated in your state.
In most cases, Workers' Compensation is the exclusive remedy for your workplace injuries, meaning you cannot sue your employer directly for negligence. However, if a third party, such as a machine manufacturer or a maintenance contractor, was responsible for the equipment failure, you may have grounds for a separate personal injury claim. An attorney can help you evaluate all potential avenues for recovery based on the facts of your case.