How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 38 severe cases of environmental cold exposure over the last decade. The vast majority of these incidents, 87 percent, resulted in effects of reduced temperature like frostbite, which often lead to long-term nerve damage or tissue loss.
These injuries most frequently impact your fingers, accounting for 53 percent of all reported body part injuries. Because these incidents often require hospitalization or surgery, they carry significant long-term consequences for your ability to perform manual tasks.
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Free Benefits ReviewCommon injuries
Cold exposure incidents typically occur when you operate in temperature extremes without adequate protective gear or sufficient warming breaks. In 95 percent of reported cases, the primary source of injury is the environmental temperature itself, often exacerbated by faulty cooling machinery or appliances that fail to maintain safe working conditions.
| Injury Type | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Effects of reduced temperature | 33 |
| 2 | Amputations, avulsions, enucleations | 5 |
Where injuries happen most
Transportation and warehousing accounts for 37 percent of these severe injuries, as you frequently handle shipments in refrigerated trucks or cold-storage facilities. These environments demand strict adherence to safety protocols, yet equipment failures and lack of proper thermal protection often leave you vulnerable to rapid tissue damage.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports involve you performing routine maintenance in freezers or unloading shipments in freezing weather without proper insulation. Many incidents stem from equipment malfunctions, such as lift gate failures, that force you to spend extended time in dangerous conditions. 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 | IL | Construction | "An employee was replacing electric lights inside a freezer at a store. He developed frostbite in his fingers and was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | OK | Mining | "An employee was working on an oil and gas drilling rig and tripping pipe out of the hole. After the employee finished work and took off his gloves, he noticed his fingers had frostbite." | |
| 2025 | MO | Retail Trade | "An employee was sweeping and taking out trash in a cold environment. The employee was hospitalized with frostbite to his toes and amputation of left toes. " | |
| 2025 | WI | Transportation & Warehousing | "On January 21, 2025, an employee was unloading a shipment of slot machines from a delivery truck. The truck's lift gate battery failed, preventing the use of the lift. The employee disconnected the vehicle engine battery and connected it to the lift gate battery to provide a power boost. While the employee was repairing the liftgate, their hands were exposed to extreme cold weather. The employee was hospitalized with frostbite to both hands, including their fingers and thumbs." | |
| 2024 | PA | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was unloading a truck and sustained frostbite to his left index finger due to cold temperatures." | |
| 2024 | KS | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was working in extreme cold as a selector in a freezer. The employee was hospitalized and sustained a left index fingertip amputation." | |
| 2024 | IL | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was dropping off trailer and tractor equipment when his left hand sustained severe frostbite. He was hospitalized." | |
| 2023 | NH | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was selecting in a freezer and sustained frostbite to fingers on both hands. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2023 | MA | Manufacturing | "An employee was picking orders in a freezer warehouse. He developed frostbite in both middle fingers; the right middle finger was partially medically amputated. The incident occurred during a training activity." | |
| 2023 | OH | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee had been putting product away in a freezer kept at negative 10-degrees Fahrenheit. At the end of their shift the employee had pain and discoloration in their feet and toes. The employee was hospitalized with frostbite in both of their big toes." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.