How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 78 severe cases involving radiator fluid over the past decade. The vast majority of these incidents, 73%, result in thermal burns that require immediate medical intervention and often hospitalization.
These injuries frequently impact the trunk and other body parts, accounting for 7% of cases. Because these burns often involve high-temperature pressurized liquids, the damage to your skin can lead to long-term recovery challenges.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Most injuries occur when hot radiator fluid makes direct contact with you, accounting for 51% of all reported incidents. These accidents often happen when pressurized caps are removed from engines that have not fully cooled, causing the liquid to spray forcefully onto your face, hands, and torso.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Contact with hot objects or substances | 40 |
| 2 | Flash fire | 19 |
| 3 | Ingestion of harmful substance | 9 |
| 4 | Exposure to harmful substance through exposed tissue | 5 |
| 5 | Inhalation of harmful substance | 5 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing leads with 26% of all recorded incidents, followed by mining at 22%. In these environments, you frequently perform maintenance on heavy machinery and vehicle engines where exposure to pressurized cooling systems is a daily requirement.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports involve you attempting to check fluid levels or perform repairs on engines that appear cool but remain under high pressure. If you were injured while performing routine maintenance or assisting with an overheating vehicle, an attorney can help you review the specific circumstances of your incident to determine if employer safety protocols were followed.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | TX | Mining | "An employee was working on a hot motor when radiator fluid sprayed onto his right hand, hip, back, and torso, resulting in second-degree burns that required hospitalization." | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "An employee had been driving his work truck on the highway when it overheated. He parked it and opened the coolant cap in the engine bay. Engine coolant was ejected from the hot engine and the employee suffered second-degree burns. He was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Retail Trade | "An employee was in a parking lot, helping a customer whose vehicle was overheating. The employee lifted the vehicle's hood and removed the radiator cap and hot radiator fluid sprayed him, burning his face, right hand, and chest." | |
| 2025 | TX | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was performing a dip test on a vehicle's radiator fluid. He waited 30 minutes for the vehicle to cool and then performed a quarter-turn of the radiator cap. The cap flew off and radiator fluid sprayed on his left hand and forearm, resulting in second-degree burns." | |
| 2024 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was loosening piping prior to replacing a water pump on an engine when hot antifreeze sprayed onto his left hand and right forearm, resulting in burns." | |
| 2024 | TX | Mining | "On October 24, 2024, at 1:06 AM, an employee shut the hydraulic fracturing pump's engine off and removed one of the pump's engine block coolant temperature sensors. Heated engine coolant then released from behind the sensor and burned the employee's hands and forearms." | |
| 2024 | PA | Education | "On September 2, 2024, at about 5:10 PM, an employee was warming an ethanol solution in a glass container with a heat gun. The glass container broke and the ethanol ignited, resulting in second-degree burns to the employee's torso and third-degree burns to his right hand and arm that required surgery." | |
| 2024 | GA | Manufacturing | "An employee was walking around and performing basic job duties on assembly prior to shipment. They drank from a water bottle that contained windshield washer fluid. The employee sustained stomach injuries and was hospitalized." | |
| 2024 | FL | Agriculture | "An employee was repairing a water pump on a lawn mower. He replaced the water pump and thermometer and then went to test drive it. The mower started running hot, so he brought it back to the shop and opened the hood on the mower. The radiator overflowed the bottle, the lid blew off, and hot coolant sprayed the employee's face, eyes, and neck. The employee was hospitalized for burns." | |
| 2024 | GA | Agriculture | "An employee had been skidding wood. They opened the radiator to let some pressure out and hot radiator fluid exploded all over him, causing second-degree burns to his right hand, arm, side, and back. The employee was hospitalized." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.