How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 27 severe cases involving dishes and small receptacles over the past decade. The most common injury type is cuts, lacerations, and punctures, which account for 48% of all reported incidents.
These injuries often result in significant damage to your fingers and wrists, frequently requiring hospitalization for tendon or nerve repair. The physical nature of these items means that even a small slip can lead to permanent impairment.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Injuries from dishes and small receptacles typically occur when items break during handling or fall from storage. You are most often struck by falling objects or suffer from overexertion while moving heavy pans and trays by hand.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Struck by falling object | 9 |
| 2 | Overexertion while materials moving by hand | 7 |
| 3 | Injured by object handled by person | 7 |
| 4 | Contact with hot objects or substances | 1 |
| 5 | Struck by running powered equipment— n.e.c. | 1 |
Where injuries happen most
Accommodation and food services account for 37% of these injuries, as the high volume of dishware and constant movement create a high-risk environment. Retail trade and health care settings also see frequent incidents, often due to the repetitive nature of stocking, cleaning, or transporting food service items.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents include broken glass causing deep lacerations to your hands and wrists, or back injuries occurring when you lift heavy pans of food. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you review the specifics of your incident to determine if employer safety failures contributed to your harm.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | LA | Other Services | "An employee was on a scissor lift, moving a jug of refrigerant onto a roof. The container fell onto his left middle finger, crushing it against the handrail of the scissor lift and and fracturing it." | |
| 2025 | FL | Manufacturing | "An employee had bent down to pick up two 80-ounce pans of cheesecake. When the employee stood up, they felt a pop in their back, and they were hospitalized with a back injury." | |
| 2025 | FL | Retail Trade | "An employee was picking up a bottle of wine when the top of it broke. The broken glass lacerated her right hand, causing tendon damage. She was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Arts & Entertainment | "An employee was washing dishes and cut their wrist on a broken plate. The employee was hospitalized. " | |
| 2024 | FL | Other Services | "An employee was putting glasses away after their shift at the bar. A glass fell from the shelf and struck the employee's right wrist. The glass broke and lacerated an artery, two tendons, and a nerve in the wrist. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2024 | DE | Health Care | "On June 17, 2024, an employee was lifting a container of cooked pasta when he felt something pop in his abdomen. The employee was hospitalized with an abdominal injury." | |
| 2024 | NY | Retail Trade | "An employee was filling the bread shelf and moving bread trays when they felt pain in their back. The employee sustained an annular tear of a lumbar disc. " | |
| 2024 | FL | Construction | "An employee was putting dishes away and picked up a plate that was hot. Both of the employee's hands were burned." | |
| 2023 | MA | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was loading a dish washing machine. A plate bumped against the machine and broke, lacerating the employee's left arm. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery." | |
| 2023 | PA | Retail Trade | "An employee was moving a 5-foot-high cart with plates on top when the plates fell and struck the employee in the head, resulting in brain hemorrhaging." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.