How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 259 severe cases involving bodily motion or position over the last decade. Fractures account for 28% of these incidents, often requiring extensive medical intervention and time away from your job.
These injuries frequently impact your lower back, which accounts for 13% of all reported cases. The physical toll often results in long-term musculoskeletal damage that can affect your ability to perform daily tasks.
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These injuries occur when you push your body beyond its natural limits during routine tasks. Bodily motion or position is the primary source of injury in every reported case, often triggered by reaching for products, bending to retrieve items, or carrying heavy loads. When your workplace environment does not account for proper ergonomics, simple movements like twisting or lifting can lead to immediate and severe physical harm.
| Injury Type | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fractures | 72 |
| 2 | Traumatic injuries or exposures— unspecified | 65 |
| 3 | Sprains, strains, tears | 46 |
| 4 | Dislocations | 25 |
| 5 | Hernias | 17 |
| 6 | Soft tissue injuries— unspecified | 8 |
| 7 | Radiculopathy and disc disorders | 7 |
| 8 | Soft tissue injuries— n.e.c. | 4 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 22% of these severe cases, as the high-paced nature of production often requires repetitive reaching and heavy lifting. If you work in health care or warehousing, you also face elevated risks due to the constant physical demands of moving patients or inventory, which can lead to sudden strains or disc injuries.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports involve you performing routine tasks like reaching for items on pallets, bending to pick up dropped objects, or carrying heavy product trays. These incidents often result in sudden hernias, hip dislocations, or herniated discs that require immediate hospitalization and surgery. 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 | RI | Retail Trade | "An employee strained his back after reaching for product on a pallet. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was reaching to hook her harness into a lanyard and began to experience abdominal pain. The employee sustained an umbilical hernia." | |
| 2025 | MA | Manufacturing | "An employee was entering an area while carrying a tray containing 20 pounds of product. A plastic curtain came into contact with the employee's shoulder; the employee suffered a herniated disc while dislodging the curtain." | |
| 2025 | NY | Health Care | "An employee was bending down when he suffered an abdominal strain and was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | IL | Retail Trade | "An employee dropped a piece of clothing on the sales floor. She bent over to pick it up and her hip dislocated. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery." | |
| 2025 | KS | Real Estate | "An employee was standing on the shop floor tightening a bolt on a bulldozer. The employee twisted her left leg and sustained fractures to her tibia and fibula. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | NM | Public Administration | "On May 1, 2025, at approximately 11:00 AM, an employee was jump-starting the battery of a forklift and his back went out while he was bending down. The employee was hospitalized with a slipped disc and required surgery." | |
| 2025 | OH | Construction | "An employee was troubleshooting connectors for computer controls and was kneeling down on the ground to disconnect a pin cable connection. He reached forward and felt his lower back pop/lock and could not move to a standing position. The employee was hospitalized for a lower back sprain/strain. " | |
| 2025 | CT | Health Care | "An employee developed shooting pain up and down both legs and the back while bending over to remove restraints from a patient. The employee was hospitalized, suffering from a herniated disk with cauda equina syndrome." | |
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was using a small cup to move glass bead media from a container on the floor to the blasting equipment when their back locked up. The employee sustained a herniated disc and was hospitalized." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.