How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 3,025 cases involving you being struck by rolling, sliding, or shifting objects. Amputations account for 71% of these incidents.
The impact of these events is concentrated on your fingers, which account for 77% of all reported injuries.
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These injuries typically occur when you move, store, or reposition heavy materials like pipes, reels, or steel channels. Stationary sawing machinery and food processing equipment are frequent sources of these hazards, often shifting unexpectedly during your manual handling or loading processes. When your employer fails to secure loads or provide adequate dunnage during material transport, you are left vulnerable to being pinned or crushed by heavy inventory.
| Injury Type | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amputations, avulsions, enucleations | 2,130 |
| 2 | Cuts, lacerations, punctures without injury to internal structures | 369 |
| 3 | Fractures | 331 |
| 4 | Traumatic injuries or exposures— unspecified | 100 |
| 5 | Severe wounds or internal injuries and other injuries | 30 |
| 6 | Bruises, contusions | 13 |
| 7 | Injuries to internal organs and major blood vessels | 8 |
| 8 | Sprains, strains, tears | 7 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 46% of all recorded incidents, as the movement of raw materials and heavy components creates risk for shifting loads. Retail trade and construction follow, where your manual handling of heavy goods and unsecured structural materials frequently leads to crushing injuries.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents involve heavy objects shifting during your manual repositioning, loading, or unloading from transport vehicles. You are often injured when you attempt to stabilize or guide materials that are not properly secured, leading to your fingers or hands being trapped between heavy surfaces. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you determine if employer negligence contributed to your injury.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | AR | Manufacturing | "On July 30, 2025, an employee was assisting co-workers in using a hoist to position an injection molding tool onto a work table. As the tool was being lowered, the slide section shifted, trapping and amputating the employee's right thumb tip." | |
| 2025 | IL | Construction | "An employee was hanging wire mesh from a lift that was approximately 15 feet high. As the employee was adding tension to the wire, a U-bolt slid down, causing a left index fingertip amputation." | |
| 2025 | OK | Information | "An employee was removing 2,500-foot reels of 1 cable-in-conduit (CIC) weighing ~1,022 lbs. from the back of an enclosed delivery truck. The employee was manually rolling a reel off the truck when another reel shifted and rolled forward, crushing his right hand between the two reels. The employee's right ring finger was partially amputated without loss of bone." | |
| 2025 | MS | Manufacturing | "An employee was rolling pipe on a table to reposition it and finish grinding on the edge. Another pipe (weighing 4 tons) was moving down the same table and struck the employee. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs and a partial lung collapse on the right side." | |
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was separating a bundle of steel channel using a lifting device. While the employee was inserting a piece of wood dunnage between the pieces of material, the load shifted. This caused the steel channel to come down and pinch the employee's index finger, leading to a partial amputation of the fingertip." | |
| 2025 | CO | Manufacturing | "An employee was working to move a paper roller carriage, which is a 3 by 3-foot paper roll weighing approximately 500 pounds. The employee's hands were positioned in the area where the spool meets the cradle. As the employee moved the carriage across a floor track, the paper roll was dislodged and caught the employee's finger, severing it. The employee's right middle fingertip was partially amputated." | |
| 2025 | TX | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was assisting a customer with attaching a trailer to their vehicle using a trailer mover. The trailer slipped from the trailer mover. As a result, the trailer mover struck the employee s left knee. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured left kneecap that required surgery." | |
| 2025 | PA | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was onsite to load a van with carts filled with packages for delivery. She was handling a cart (weighing approximately 300 to 500 pounds) down a ramp. The cart began to pull her down the ramp. At the foot of the ramp was another ramp with a railing. The cart struck the railing and the employee's hand was caught between the cart handle and the railing. The employee's right middle fingertip was amputated." | |
| 2025 | FL | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was driving a forklift and unloading racks of glass from a truck. A rack began to tilt; the employee exited the forklift and went to stabilize it. The rack tipped and pinned his left arm against the forklift. The forearm was broken and required surgery." | |
| 2025 | IL | Construction | "Employees were putting the cap end back on an oil cooler that was sitting on wooden cribbing at ground level. They had to roll the unit on wooden blocks so a flange on the side of the cooler would not hit the cribbing. While an employee was moving the blocks using a short piece of 8-by-8, his left middle fingertip was caught and crushed between two blocks. The finger was partially amputated." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.