How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 1,641 severe cases involving internal organs and blood vessels over the last decade.
These injuries often result in long-term functional limitations and significant medical expenses. Because internal damage is not always immediately visible, you may face challenges in documenting the full extent of your harm and securing necessary long-term care.
Internal injury at work? Check your workers' comp benefits.
Free Benefits ReviewWhat causes Internal Organ and Vessel Injuries
Falls to lower levels are the primary driver of these injuries, accounting for 38% of all reported cases. When you fall from a height or slip on a level surface, the force of the impact frequently causes blunt force trauma to the abdomen or chest, leading to internal bleeding or organ rupture.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Other fall to lower level | 605 |
| 2 | Fall on same level | 166 |
| 3 | Struck by falling object | 97 |
| 4 | Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area | 80 |
| 5 | Struck by propelled object or substance | 78 |
| 6 | Struck by rolling powered vehicle or machinery | 63 |
| 7 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 60 |
| 8 | Nonroadway noncollision incident | 49 |
Where injuries happen most
Construction leads all sectors with 26% of severe internal injury reports. The environment involves heavy machinery, elevated work surfaces, and moving vehicles, which create frequent opportunities for crushing incidents or high-impact strikes that damage your vital organs.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports involve equipment failures, such as broken lift mechanisms or machinery rollovers, alongside accidental discharges of tools. These incidents frequently occur during routine tasks, and if your experience mirrors these documented failures, an attorney can help you review the specifics of your incident.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | AR | Other Services | "On July 23, 2025, at approximately 7:20 a.m., an employee was walking to see inmates when they slipped on a towel on the floor. They fell to the floor and landed on their left side, near their ribs. The employee was hospitalized with kidney bleeding on their left side." | |
| 2025 | MT | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was coaching a bike lesson. Their handlebar clipped a tree, rotated, and struck their left side. This caused the employee to fall, and they were hospitalized with a ruptured spleen." | |
| 2025 | FL | Construction | "An employee was operating a roller parallel to a sloped lake bank. The roller overturned and the operator jumped off the roller as it overturned. The roller then struck/crushed the employee. The employee sustained internal injuries and chest trauma. The employee was hospitalized. " | |
| 2025 | OH | Construction | "An employee was lifting a hydraulic trailer gate for an asphalt roller when a spring in the lift mechanism broke and struck the employee's chest. The employee sustained blunt force trauma to the chest requiring hospitalization." | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "An employee was positioning a form brace before using a nail gun to secure it in place. The employee set his nail gun down on a rebar form, and when he picked it up, it discharged a nail that penetrated his abdomen. The employee required surgery to repair his stomach." | |
| 2025 | PA | Arts & Entertainment | "An employee was loading snow guns and jacks onto a dump-style truck. The truck was parked on an incline and the door closed on the employee. The employee was hospitalized for contusions and a lacerated liver." | |
| 2025 | PA | Administrative Services | "An employee was removing a storm damaged tree from a utility wire. After making his final cut he began to retreat. The log rolled, striking the employee and rolling over his legs. The employee sustained a laceration to his liver and bruising to his lower legs." | |
| 2025 | CO | Health Care | "An employee was sitting while observing a patient. The patient became agitated and struck the employee about the abdomen and chest causing internal bleeding. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | WI | Agriculture | "An employee entered a stall to free a cow caught in a milking parlor entrance. The safety gate closed, allowing the parlor to rotate. The employee was pinned between the stall divider and the gate, suffering a punctured lung." | |
| 2025 | MS | Manufacturing | "An employee was ascending in an aerial lift. He was pinned between the lift's control panel and the hull of a ship, suffering injuries to the liver and spleen." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.