How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 96 severe cases involving drilling and extraction machinery over the past two years. Amputations are the most frequent injury type, representing 44% of all reported incidents. These injuries often involve permanent loss of function and require extensive medical intervention.
The severity of these incidents is driven by the high-torque nature of the equipment. Fingers are the most commonly affected body part, accounting for 46% of all cases. You face life-altering consequences, including partial or full finger loss, which can impact your long-term earning potential.
Hurt by drilling equipment? Check what benefits you may be owed.
Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Injuries from drilling and extraction machinery typically occur when you are caught or entangled in running equipment during normal operations. Maintenance and cleaning tasks also present risks, as you are frequently struck by moving components or crushed between equipment and other objects.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 18 |
| 2 | Struck by running powered equipment— during maintenance, cleaning, testing | 12 |
| 3 | Struck by falling object | 8 |
| 4 | Vehicle or machinery fire | 5 |
| 5 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 5 |
| 6 | Caught or wedged between objects— nonrunning | 5 |
| 7 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 5 |
| 8 | Other fall to lower level | 5 |
Where injuries happen most
Mining operations account for 71% of all severe drilling and extraction machinery injuries. The high-intensity environment of well sites and extraction facilities requires constant interaction with heavy, high-torque machinery. When safety protocols fail in these settings, your risk of catastrophic injury increases significantly.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents involve you performing routine maintenance or assembly tasks when equipment shifts unexpectedly. Many reports describe fingers being crushed or amputated by tongs, rotators, or blocks that move without warning. 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 negligence played a role.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | TX | Mining | "An employee was working to assemble a rotator head onto a landing joint. The rotator head fell onto the employee's leg and fractured it." | |
| 2025 | PA | Mining | "An employee was changing out the heads on mechanically-operated tongs when the tongs shifted into a lower gear, causing the employee's left hand to be crushed. The employee sustained amputations to their left index, middle, and ring fingers." | |
| 2025 | TX | Mining | "At approximately 10:40 AM, on July 30, 2025, during operations on a rig at a well, the injured employee was in the derrick, working to pull back a joint of pipe. He encountered a shorter-than-standard pipe, which prevented him from securing his arm around it, so he grabbed the pipe by the collar with his left hand. The blocks were being lowered at the time. The bottom of the blocks contacted the top of the pipe while the employee's fingers were inside the collar. His middle and ring fingers were amputated and the index finger was partially amputated. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery." | |
| 2025 | TX | Professional Services | "An employee was troubleshooting and rodding out a piece of process piping equipment when their left index finger was caught between the tool handle and threaded flange. The employee's fingertip was partially amputated." | |
| 2025 | IL | Mining | "Three employees were servicing and cleaning an oil well when a fire occurred. All three employees were burned. One employee was treated and released. Two employees were hospitalized and one hospitalized employee required surgery." | |
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was descending the stairs of an oil/gas rig. As he approached the fifth step from the bottom, he slipped. His left ankle was caught in the steps, and he suffered fractures to the left fibula, tibia, and talus. He was hospitalized, requiring surgery." | |
| 2025 | TX | Mining | "A crew was performing routine rod work. While making up a rod triple, the rod triple slipped out and made contact with an employee's left arm. The employee sustained a fractured elbow and forearm." | |
| 2025 | NY | Professional Services | "An employee was assisting the operator of a soil sampling rig to collect soil samples. He went to remove soil sampling tooling and the energized equipment cycled. His right index fingertip was amputated including the fingernail." | |
| 2025 | FL | Professional Services | "Employees were drilling a hole when an employee was struck by the drill. Their right leg was amputated at the knee." | |
| 2025 | TX | Mining | "An employee was working to straighten up a lifting sub for a reamer while it was inside the automated floor wrench. The spinner doors closed, catching the employee's right forearm. The employee sustained a fractured right radius and a displaced fracture of the right ulna. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.