How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 123 severe cases of workplace abrasions over the last decade. Your hands and fingers are the most frequently affected body parts, accounting for 13 percent of all reported incidents.
These injuries often result in more than just surface pain, frequently leading to secondary infections or long-term scarring that limits your range of motion. When deep tissue is exposed, your recovery process can be extensive and may impact your ability to perform your job duties.
What causes Abrasions
Most severe abrasions occur when you are struck by propelled objects or substances, which accounts for 23 percent of all reported incidents. These injuries frequently happen when high-speed machinery ejects debris or when you are caught against abrasive surfaces during routine operation.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Struck by propelled object or substance | 27 |
| 2 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 21 |
| 3 | Struck against stationary object | 10 |
| 4 | Fall on same level | 10 |
| 5 | Other fall to lower level | 8 |
| 6 | Struck by falling object | 7 |
| 7 | Rubbed or abraded by non-running object | 4 |
| 8 | Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area | 3 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 37 percent of all severe abrasion cases, largely due to the prevalence of high-speed rotating equipment and material processing tools. You are at risk in these environments when machine guarding is absent or when safety protocols for clearing jams are bypassed.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports involve you becoming caught in machinery during maintenance or while clearing material, often due to inadequate lockout procedures. If your injury occurred while operating equipment or following a fall that resulted in significant skin trauma, an attorney can help you review the specific circumstances of your incident.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | OK | Manufacturing | "An employee was operating a vertical mill to machine a fixture for an engineering project. The employee was using calipers to take a measurement of the fixture in proximity to the spindle when the sleeve of his shop coat got caught in the spindle, pulling his left hand into the tool. The employee sustained a severe abrasion to the back of his hand." | |
| 2025 | OK | Manufacturing | "An employee in the long bar processing area had completed work for the day. The last material that had passed through a machine had been discharged on the exit side. The employee approached the machine and his left hand was caught between the rotating grinding stone and the support rollers. The employee sustained severe abrasive injuries to the back of his left hand." | |
| 2025 | TX | Retail Trade | "A facilities maintenance technician was helping to perform a bearing repair on a conveyor shaft. His right hand became caught on the conveyor belt and he sustained abrasions and swelling. He was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | ID | Construction | "An employee was pressure washing grease on a low-sloped roof when their fall protection lanyard caught on the roof, causing them to trip and drop the pressure washer wand. The spray hit the employee's right leg and thigh, resulting in an abrasion and injected water below the surface of the skin." | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "At about 12:05 p.m. on April 8, 2025, while performing material handling tasks on jack-up scaffolding, an employee of Lopez Masonry was walking along the scaffold's inner-face walk board when the walk board became dislodged from its holding flange. The employee fell to the ground and suffered abrasions to the right arm and the left side of the chest. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | AS | Transportation & Warehousing | "A mechanic was working on the brakes of a truck when the driver operated the vehicle. The vehicle partially ran over the side of the mechanic's abdomen. The employee sustained soft tissue abrasions." | |
| 2024 | FL | Manufacturing | "An employee was performing quality control checks on a conveyor. They grabbed a tray on the conveyor and the conveyor contacted their hand, resulting in an abrasion." | |
| 2024 | FL | Manufacturing | "An employee was pressure washing a crane on a wash rack. He stumbled and his boot and foot were struck by the high pressure water. The employee was hospitalized with an abrasion to the top of his right foot." | |
| 2024 | VA | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was using a mail truck to deliver mail when they struck a patch of loose gravel and the vehicle overturned onto its side. The employee suffered leg and ankle pain as well as road burn. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2024 | TX | Real Estate | "An employee was unhooking an air hose from an oil pump in a shop. As he disconnected the quick coupler, the compressed air caused an abrasion to his right ring finger." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, Workers' Compensation is designed to cover your medical expenses and lost wages for injuries sustained on the job, including severe abrasions that require hospitalization. If your injury prevents you from working or requires ongoing medical care, you are entitled to file a claim. An attorney can help you ensure your claim accurately reflects the severity of your injury.
Infections are a serious complication of deep abrasions and require immediate medical attention to prevent further tissue damage. You should document all medical visits and follow your doctor's treatment plan strictly to maintain your eligibility for benefits. An attorney can help you document these complications to ensure your claim covers all necessary follow-up care.
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, was responsible for the equipment failure that caused your injury, you may have grounds for a separate personal injury claim. An attorney can help you evaluate your case to identify all potential avenues for compensation.
Recovery timelines vary significantly based on the depth of your injury and whether underlying structures like tendons or nerves were affected. While minor scrapes heal quickly, severe abrasions often require weeks of wound care and physical therapy to regain full function. An attorney can help you understand how your specific recovery timeline affects your Workers' Compensation benefits.