How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 153 severe cases involving roadway noncollision incidents over the past decade. Fractures are the most common injury type, accounting for 42 percent of these reports, which often require extensive medical intervention and long-term recovery.
These events are particularly dangerous because they frequently involve heavy equipment like trucks, which account for 52 percent of all reported sources. Injuries to the brain are common, reflecting the high-impact nature of vehicle rollovers and tipping accidents.
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Most noncollision incidents occur when your vehicle transitions from paved surfaces to uneven ground or loses balance on sloped terrain. Trucks and industrial vehicles are the primary sources of these accidents, often tipping over when tires sink into soft soil or when you lose control on inclines. These events are frequently linked to site conditions that are not properly graded or marked for heavy equipment use.
| Injury Type | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fractures | 61 |
| 2 | Traumatic injuries or exposures— unspecified | 27 |
| 3 | Intracranial Injuries | 25 |
| 4 | Amputations, avulsions, enucleations | 7 |
| 5 | Injuries to internal organs and major blood vessels | 6 |
| 6 | Cuts, lacerations, punctures without injury to internal structures | 4 |
| 7 | Severe wounds or internal injuries and other injuries | 3 |
| 8 | Bruises, contusions | 3 |
Where injuries happen most
Administrative services account for 27 percent of these incidents, suggesting that vehicle operations in support roles often lack the same safety oversight as dedicated transport sectors. Construction follows closely at 25 percent, where the combination of heavy machinery and rapidly changing site terrain creates a high-risk environment for rollovers and tipping.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents involve heavy machinery or trucks losing stability on sloped shoulders, soft ground, or during sharp maneuvers. You are frequently injured when vehicles flip, trapping limbs or causing falls from moving trailers. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you evaluate your situation and ensure you receive the full benefits you are owed.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "An employee was using an excavator to unload concrete traffic barriers. The excavator swung, tipped over an existing barrier, and fell into a ravine/wetland. The employee sustained a fractured left shin requiring hospitalization and surgery." | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "Two employees were driving a water truck pulling a trailer on the sloped shoulder within the barricade of a work zone when the truck and the trailer rolled over. One employee sustained a broken femur and was hospitalized. The second employee sustained contusions to the lower back left side and left forearm and was not hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "An employee was picking up traffic barrels while standing on a moving flatbed trailer. When the vehicle made a U-turn, the employee lost his balance and fell onto the freeway pavement. The employee sustained a fracture to the back of the skull and a brain bleed." | |
| 2025 | AR | Manufacturing | "An employee was operating a forklift on the roadway near a building. While backing up, the rear tires left the pavement and sank into the soft ground causing the forklift to flip onto its side. The employee s right leg and foot were trapped underneath the forklift resulting in multiple broken metatarsals." | |
| 2024 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was driving a utility vehicle and making rounds in the facility. While transitioning from the paved portion of the roadway to the uneven gravel portion, the vehicle overturned and the employee's left foot was caught between the vehicle and the ground. The employee sustained a dislocated left ankle." | |
| 2024 | OH | Construction | "On November 7, 2024, an employee slipped off the rear platform of a truck while moving temporary road signs. The employee was struck by the trailer that the truck was pulling and they sustained fractures to their left tibia and fibula." | |
| 2024 | TX | Utilities | "An employee was driving a telehandler (forklift) on a rural road with drainage ditches on both sides of the road. A tube of grease rolled near the operating pedals of the telehandler and when the operator bent over to grab the tube, the telehandler veered off the road. The tires of the telehandler slid on wet grass and went into a ditch. When the telehandler got to the bottom of the ditch (approximately 15 feet below), it tipped over onto the cab's passenger side. The employee was wearing a seatbelt and struck the interior structure of the telehandler cab and sustained a fractured right clavicle requiring hospitalization." | |
| 2024 | ID | Construction | "A crane operator was transitioning a crane from a slope to a flat surface when the crane began tipping over. The operator jumped from the cab of the crane and landed on the bridge deck as the crane overturned on the bridge. The employee was hospitalized with an injury to the left arm." | |
| 2024 | MS | Administrative Services | "An employee was riding on the back of a refuse vehicle while moving to another set of trash containers. Their foot slipped off the rear of the truck and they fell to the ground. The employee sustained a fractured right leg." | |
| 2024 | SD | Manufacturing | "An employee was driving a semi tractor pulling a tanker trailer that was applying calcium chloride to a gravel road. The truck was driving 11 miles per hour on a straight stretch of gravel road when it rolled to the edge of the road and rolled over onto its side in a ditch. The employee suffered bruises, a cut on the elbow, cracked ribs, fractured vertebrae, and a punctured lung. He was hospitalized." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.