How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 2,094 severe cases involving conveyor belts over the last decade. These incidents frequently result in amputations, which account for 60% of all reported injuries, followed by fractures at 21%.
The severity of these injuries is driven by the high-torque nature of the equipment. Your fingers are the most affected body part, accounting for 60% of incidents, often suffering permanent damage when caught in rollers or transition plates.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Most injuries occur when you are caught or entangled in running equipment during normal operation, which accounts for 74% of all reported incidents. These accidents often happen when you attempt to clear a jam or clean the belt while the machine is still energized, leading to rapid entrapment between rollers and belts.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 1,532 |
| 2 | Struck by running powered equipment— during maintenance, cleaning, testing | 190 |
| 3 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 127 |
| 4 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 71 |
| 5 | Other fall to lower level | 51 |
| 6 | Struck by falling object | 27 |
| 7 | Struck by rolling, sliding, or shifting objects—non-running | 15 |
| 8 | Fall on same level | 14 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 61% of all reported conveyor incidents. The high volume of automated production lines and constant material movement in these facilities creates frequent opportunities for contact with unguarded nip points and moving parts.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents include you attempting to clear package jams or perform routine cleaning without proper lockout-tagout procedures. These reports often detail how quickly your hand or arm can be pulled into a roller system, leading to immediate and life-altering trauma. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | KS | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was clearing a mail jam on a conveyor belt when her arm got trapped between the rollers. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured arm that required surgery." | |
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was replacing a pop-up roller between the drop plate table and the far stacker conveyor after clearing a jam. The pop-up roller became hung up on the frame of the roller flight conveyor. The employee s hand then became caught between the pop-up roller and the belts on the drop table. The employee sustained an avulsion to their right hand excluding the fingers. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery." | |
| 2025 | FL | Transportation & Warehousing | "After clearing a jam on a secured conveyor belt, an employee walked back to step down, lost their footing, and fell onto the ground outside a bay door. The employee was hospitalized with a fracture to their left arm/elbow." | |
| 2025 | KS | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was sorting packages on a conveyor belt. The employee's hand was caught between the belt and a transition plate, causing lacerations and burns to their hand and wrist." | |
| 2025 | WI | Administrative Services | "At about 11:45 p.m. on July 26, 2025, an employee was cleaning the floor with a pressure washer. While clearing away a piece of sausage, their left hand was caught between the rollers and the belt on a conveyor. The employee suffered partial amputations to the middle and ring fingers." | |
| 2025 | WI | Retail Trade | "An employee was aligning a shipping offload conveyor. A component of the machine caught the employee's left middle finger, amputating it above the second knuckle." | |
| 2025 | NJ | Manufacturing | "An employee was packing candles on a line. They reached down to pick up a 12-pack of candles when their right little finger was caught in the conveyor belt, resulting in an amputation at the distal joint." | |
| 2025 | LA | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was inspecting a drag conveyor when the machine started up while his hand was inside. The employee's left index finger was amputated to the first knuckle." | |
| 2025 | FL | Manufacturing | "An employee was troubleshooting to determine why a pallet was not traveling along a continuous vertical conveyor. The conveyor's rollers caused a crushing/laceration injury to the employee's right hand that required surgery." | |
| 2025 | NE | Agriculture | "An employee was using an 8-foot metal pipe to remove a manure blockage at the transfer to an incline conveyer. The employee s left hand was placed on top of the pipe while removing the blockage. The pipe pushed their left hand into the wooden railing of the platform they were standing on, catching their thumb in a pinch point and resulting in partial amputation." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.