How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 70 severe cases of spinal cord injuries over the last decade. These injuries often result in life-altering consequences, affecting your ability to walk, stand, or perform basic daily tasks.
The long-term impact of a spinal cord injury frequently extends beyond the initial trauma, leading to chronic pain, loss of mobility, and permanent changes to your earning capacity. Because these injuries involve the central nervous system, your recovery process is often complex and requires extensive medical intervention.
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Free Benefits ReviewWhat causes Spinal Cord Injuries
Falls to lower levels are the primary driver of these injuries, representing 40% of all reported cases. Whether you fall from a ladder, a roof, or a collapsing structure, the force of impact frequently causes catastrophic damage to your vertebrae. Other common scenarios involve being struck by heavy falling objects or equipment failures that leave you vulnerable to direct spinal trauma.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Other fall to lower level | 28 |
| 2 | Fall on same level | 13 |
| 3 | Struck by falling object | 7 |
| 4 | Nonroadway noncollision incident | 5 |
| 5 | Struck by propelled, falling, or suspended object— unspecified | 3 |
| 6 | Nonroadway collision with object other than vehicle | 2 |
| 7 | Twisting, reaching, bending | 1 |
| 8 | Fall to lower level from collapsing structure or equipment | 1 |
Where injuries happen most
Construction accounts for 33% of all reported spinal cord injuries, largely due to the prevalence of work at heights and the use of heavy machinery. You are frequently exposed to fall hazards and overhead risks in this sector that require strict adherence to safety protocols. When these protections fail, the resulting injuries are often severe and permanent.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports include failures in fall protection systems, equipment malfunctions during material handling, and unexpected collisions involving heavy machinery. These incidents often occur during routine tasks where safety measures were either bypassed or failed to function as intended. 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 | TX | Construction | "On July 3, 2025, at approximately 9:45 PM, an employee was operating a utility task vehicle (UTV) on a project road when the UTV struck the rear of a reversing bulldozer. The employee struck their head and face on the UTV dashboard and collapsed onto a UTV passenger. The employee was hospitalized with a forehead laceration, a nasal fracture, and central cord syndrome. The other employee on the UTV sustained a bruised left forearm and was not hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | DC | Construction | "An employee was on a ladder while installing an air barrier on a window when he fell approximately 20 feet off the ladder, through the second-floor window, and onto the ground. The employee was hospitalized with multiple fractures and paralysis of the lower extremities." | |
| 2025 | OH | Construction | "On April 30, 2025, an employee was installing solar panels on the roof of a residential home. His fall protection anchor failed, and he fell from the roof to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to their C6 and C7 vertebrae, collapsed lungs, a heart injury, and he was paralyzed from the chest down." | |
| 2025 | KS | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was removing a strap from a load of foam insulation when the wind caused a 4x4x4 bundle of insulation to fall from the forks of the forklift. The bundle struck the employee's head, resulting in a spinal cord injury and a dislocation at vertebrae C6 and C7." | |
| 2024 | FL | Public Administration | "A law enforcement officer was breaking up an altercation when he was shot in the back of the neck by a third party. He was paralyzed from the injury and has no feeling from the chest down. " | |
| 2024 | AL | Finance & Insurance | "An employee was walking in a conference room when the heel of their shoe caught on the carpet flooring, causing them to fall. The employee's head struck a conference table and they suffered central cord syndrome/protrusion of cervical intervertebral disc. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2024 | PA | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was moving pallets into the freezer when they lost their footing and fell on their back. The employee sustained an injury to his upper back/lower neck area and was diagnosed with central cord syndrome." | |
| 2024 | TX | Wholesale Trade | "A truck driver was delivering propane. While he was climbing down from the truck cabin, he fell backward and landed on the concrete ground. The employee's vertebra was pushed into his spine, causing paralysis from the shoulder down." | |
| 2024 | OH | Construction | "Two employees were on a scissor lift traveling to an adjacent room. As they went through a doorframe, an employee was pinned between the doorframe and the railing of the scissor lift. The employee sustained a spinal injury that affected their lower extremities." | |
| 2024 | FL | Manufacturing | "An employee was in the back of a truck unloading boxes of product from the truck bed and passing them to co-workers. The employee was twisting when he sustained a herniated disk and a tear in the spine." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.