How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 414 severe cases involving cooling and humidifying machinery over the last decade. Amputations, avulsions, and enucleations account for 59% of these reported injuries, reflecting the high-speed, sharp nature of industrial fan blades and cooling components.
These incidents frequently result in permanent damage, with finger injuries making up 67% of all reported cases. When guards fail or you perform maintenance on live equipment, the resulting trauma often requires extensive surgical intervention and long-term rehabilitation.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Injuries involving cooling and humidifying machinery typically occur when safety guards are missing or bypassed during operation. Getting caught or entangled in running powered equipment during normal operation accounts for 26% of all incidents, often occurring when you attempt to adjust or clean fans while they are still spinning. Other common scenarios involve being compressed between equipment and other objects or suffering severe lacerations when a guard unexpectedly detaches during routine maintenance.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 107 |
| 2 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 66 |
| 3 | Struck by rolling, sliding, or shifting objects—non-running | 64 |
| 4 | Struck by falling object | 29 |
| 5 | Direct exposure to electricity | 23 |
| 6 | Fall on same level | 20 |
| 7 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 19 |
| 8 | Other fall to lower level | 16 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing leads all sectors with 33% of reported incidents, as you frequently interact with high-powered industrial fans and cooling systems in these facilities. Construction follows at 17%, where the installation and repair of rooftop HVAC units often expose you to rotating blades and electrical hazards in cramped, elevated workspaces.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports involve you performing routine maintenance or cleaning tasks when equipment is not properly locked out or guarded. Whether it is a fan guard falling off during operation or a slip on ice inside a walk-in freezer, these incidents often stem from preventable maintenance failures. 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 | MO | Manufacturing | "An employee was working to move an oscillating fan when the guard fell off. His left hand contacted the metal fan blades, resulting in cuts to the index, middle, and ring fingers, and amputation of the little finger above the first knuckle." | |
| 2025 | OH | Arts & Entertainment | "On July 28, 2025, an employee was removing ice buildup from the floor of a walk-in freezer. He was melting the ice with warm water when he slipped and fell on the floor. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to his left leg/ankle and he required surgery." | |
| 2025 | IL | Construction | "An employee was replacing electric lights inside a freezer at a store. He developed frostbite in his fingers and was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | PA | Retail Trade | "An employee was in a freezer when they slipped and twisted their right foot. The employee's right leg was fractured." | |
| 2025 | OH | Manufacturing | "An employee was replacing a screen on a rooftop HVAC unit when the rotating exhaust fan blade contacted their right index finger, resulting in a laceration that required hospitalization and the surgical amputation at the first knuckle." | |
| 2025 | GA | Retail Trade | "On July 9, 2025, an employee had been on a refrigerator in a store's appliance department, working on an adjacent display. While descending from the refrigerator, the employee fell to the carpeted floor below. The employee suffered a broken right temporal bone, a broken right collarbone, and a ruptured ear drum." | |
| 2025 | LA | Public Administration | "An employee placed his hand down and was shocked by electricity from a misting fan." | |
| 2025 | OH | Construction | "An employee was moving a liquid cooling unit into a facility in preparation for installation. As the unit was turned around a hallway, the employee's left ring finger was caught between the unit and a previously relocated load cell, resulting in a fingertip amputation. " | |
| 2025 | KS | Manufacturing | "On June 17, 2025, at approximately 3:30 p.m., two employees were servicing a refrigeration unit on a roof. The injured employee was inspecting the orientation of a sprocket in a different unit when air pressure generated by the unit caused the door to shut on their right thumb, resulting in an amputation at the first knuckle." | |
| 2025 | PA | Retail Trade | "An employee walked to the backroom and entered a freezer box. As they were moving a pallet of product, they fell. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured C6 vertebra." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.