How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 6,313 severe cases of cuts and lacerations over the last decade. These injuries most frequently impact your fingers, which account for 19% of all reported incidents.
Beyond the immediate pain, these injuries often result in nerve damage, loss of dexterity, and long-term functional limitations. When a laceration affects your tendons or arteries, the impact on your future earning capacity can be significant.
What causes Cuts and Lacerations
Most of these injuries stem from the tools and equipment you use every day. Being injured by an object you handle accounts for 18% of these cases, often occurring when you or your coworkers lose control of sharp materials or tools. Other common scenarios include being struck by propelled objects or getting caught in the moving parts of powered machinery during normal operation.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Injured by object handled by person | 1,073 |
| 2 | Struck by propelled object or substance | 1,040 |
| 3 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 644 |
| 4 | Struck by falling object | 394 |
| 5 | Struck by rolling, sliding, or shifting objects—non-running | 369 |
| 6 | Other fall to lower level | 301 |
| 7 | Fall on same level | 299 |
| 8 | Bitten or stung by animal | 293 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 33% of these severe injuries, largely due to the constant interaction with high-speed cutting tools and heavy machinery. Construction follows as a high-risk environment, where the use of power saws, fasteners, and heavy material handling creates frequent opportunities for deep lacerations and puncture wounds.
Real cases like yours
These incidents often follow a pattern of equipment failure or human error during routine tasks like cutting, hammering, or operating heavy machinery. Whether it is a tool malfunction, a dropped component, or an animal bite, these reports show that even standard procedures can turn dangerous in an instant. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you review the specifics of your case.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | MO | Professional Services | "A veterinarian was listening to a cat's heart when the cat bit their left thumb. The employee was hospitalized for treatment. " | |
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was hammering a pin into an engine. When he struck the pin with the hammer, the pin shattered and a small piece entered the employee's leg. He was hospitalized and required surgery to remove the shard." | |
| 2025 | FL | Construction | "An employee was carrying a compressor when he dropped it on his hand, resulting in a laceration to a finger. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Information | "An employee was cutting boxes using a box cutting tool and lacerated an artery in their wrist. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | CO | Construction | "At 5:46 PM, on July 26, 2025, an Evergreen Caissons bulldozer operator was towing a water truck on a sandy job site. The tow hook failed and the shackle and D-ring on the nylon tow rope snapped back and went through the back window of the dozer, and struck the operator. The employee sustained a gash under their right armpit. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | OH | Construction | "An employee was climbing off the back of a dump truck when he slipped and fell. His right leg struck a piece of scrap metal resulting in a severe laceration to the lower leg. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery." | |
| 2025 | GA | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was cleaning underneath the prep table in the kitchen. When he got up, he slipped on an onion on the floor and fell backward, striking the back of his head on the corner of the table. The employee suffered an open laceration and was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Construction | "An employee was cutting down the front of a concrete panel when the concrete saw kicked back and lacerated his neck. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Administrative Services | "An employee was using a pressure washer to rinse down a manhole on a sanitary sewer. When they released the pressurized hose, the employee was struck in the face and neck, resulting in lacerations to their face under the left eye and their neck." | |
| 2025 | NY | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was putting dishes into a cabinet when a drinking glass fell out. The glass hit the counter and broke, cutting the back side of the employee's wrist. The employee sustained a laceration and tendon damage to their right wrist." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.
Frequently asked questions
Recovery timelines depend heavily on the depth of your cut and whether your tendons, nerves, or arteries were damaged. While minor stitches may heal in weeks, deep lacerations often require months of physical therapy to regain your full range of motion. An attorney can help you understand how your specific recovery timeline impacts your Workers' Compensation claim.
Yes, permanent nerve damage resulting from your workplace injury is a compensable condition under most Workers' Compensation systems. If your injury has left you with numbness, chronic pain, or limited use of your hand or arm, you may be entitled to additional benefits for permanent partial disability. An attorney can help you document these long-term effects to ensure your claim reflects the true extent of your injury.
Employers often point to your error to avoid liability, but they are legally required to provide adequate machine guarding and safety training under OSHA standards. Even if a guard was removed or bypassed, your employer may still be responsible if they failed to enforce safety protocols or maintain equipment. An attorney can help you investigate whether your employer met their safety obligations before you accept any settlement.
Injuries from animal bites occurring during the course of your employment are generally covered by Workers' Compensation. If you were bitten while performing your job duties, you are entitled to medical coverage and wage replacement regardless of who owned the animal. An attorney can help you file the necessary paperwork to ensure your bite-related injury is properly documented.