Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recorded 788 severe door-related cases over the past decade, with struck-by events accounting for 72% of incidents. You may suffer from permanent finger amputations and fractures in these accidents. If your injury was caused by a malfunctioning door or a lack of proper safety guarding, an attorney can help you file a Workers' Compensation claim to cover your medical expenses and lost wages.
How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 788 severe cases involving doors over the last decade. These incidents frequently lead to amputations, which account for 68% of all reported door-related injuries.
The severity of these incidents is driven by the force of closing mechanisms and heavy panels. Your fingers are the most affected body part, often suffering permanent damage that requires long-term medical care.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Most injuries occur when you are struck by a swinging or suspended door panel, accounting for 72% of incidents. Other common scenarios involve your fingers being compressed between a closing door and the frame, or you being caught in the path of heavy overhead doors that lack proper safety sensors.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Struck by suspended or swinging object | 559 |
| 2 | Struck by falling object | 68 |
| 3 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 41 |
| 4 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 37 |
| 5 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 18 |
| 6 | Struck against stationary object | 11 |
| 7 | Overexertion while materials moving by hand | 8 |
| 8 | Struck by propelled object or substance | 7 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 24% of all door-related incidents. This frequency is often due to the constant movement of heavy industrial doors and the high-traffic nature of production floors where you are frequently moving through doorways while carrying materials.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports include doors closing on your hands while you are passing through, or heavy panels falling due to mechanical failure during transport. 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 your employer failed to maintain a safe environment.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | NY | Retail Trade | "On July 30, 2025, at approximately 8:00 a.m., an employee was unloading a truck when three sliding patio door panels, which weighed approximately 450 pounds each, fell on his head and neck area, pinning him inside the truck and causing him to lose consciousness." | |
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was entering a building and reached out to catch a closing door. The door closed on the employee's finger, resulting in the partial amputation of the fingertip and nailbed." | |
| 2025 | FL | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee's hand was on a door frame when the door slammed shut. Her left little finger was amputated at the first joint." | |
| 2025 | OH | Manufacturing | "At 2:05 p.m., the injured employee was shadowing another operator. They went into the aerosol gashouse as part of training. As they entered, the self-closing overhead door shut while the injured employee's right hand was still on the edge. The employee's little fingertip was caught and partially amputated between the door and the frame." | |
| 2025 | WI | Retail Trade | "An employee was operating a forklift and reached forward to open swinging doors to enter the back storeroom from the sales floor. His thumb became caught in the doors and was amputated at the knuckle." | |
| 2025 | OK | Public Administration | "An employee was closing a door while holding the door handle behind him. The door closed on his finger resulting in a fingertip amputation." | |
| 2025 | HI | Health Care | "An employee was taking a break from powerwashing a deck when a door closed on his left index fingertip, resulting in an amputation above the nail." | |
| 2025 | NJ | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was closing a garage door. As the door slid, the employee's right ring finger was caught in one of its wheel tracks. The fingertip was amputated at the first knuckle." | |
| 2025 | OH | Manufacturing | "On June 3, 2025, an employee was retrieving a 6-foot long tool that was leaning near a powered roll-up door and lodged in the door tract. When the employee grabbed the tool, the door came down and struck them. The employee was hospitalized with a contusion to their jaw and fractures to their right arm and leg." | |
| 2025 | IL | Manufacturing | "A temporary employee manually passed product in a bag through a man door on the production floor when it closed while his hand was in the doorway. The employee sustained a fracture and distal amputation to his left middle fingertip." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.
