How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 1,046 severe cases involving elevators, hoists, and lifts over the past decade. Fractures are the most common injury, accounting for 46% of all reported incidents. These injuries often require extensive surgery and long-term rehabilitation.
The severity of these accidents is reflected in the high rate of permanent damage, with amputations occurring in 20% of cases. Fingers are the most frequently affected body part, accounting for 20% of incidents.
How these injuries happen
Injuries involving lifts frequently occur when you fall to lower levels, which accounts for 35% of all reported incidents. These accidents often involve equipment tipping over, baskets collapsing, or structural failures during operation. You are also at high risk of being compressed between running equipment and surrounding objects, which accounts for 13% of incidents.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Other fall to lower level | 356 |
| 2 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 134 |
| 3 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 90 |
| 4 | Nonroadway noncollision incident | 78 |
| 5 | Fall to lower level from collapsing structure or equipment | 72 |
| 6 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 47 |
| 7 | Struck by falling object | 35 |
| 8 | Nonroadway collision with object other than vehicle | 34 |
Where injuries happen most
Construction leads all sectors with 40% of reported lift-related injuries, primarily due to the constant use of aerial lifts and hoists at varying heights. Manufacturing follows as the second most impacted industry, where you are frequently injured by stationary hoists and freight elevators during material handling tasks.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents include equipment tipping over during operation, structural failure of baskets or connection points, and being struck by falling loads. These reports frequently highlight failures in equipment maintenance or improper setup on uneven surfaces. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you review the specific details of your incident.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | PA | Construction | "An employee was moving an aerial lift across the mechanical room when he struck a hanging duct structure. The employee sustained lacerations to the face and a fractured jaw." | |
| 2025 | NY | Information | "An employee was working from a raised scissor lift to fix an overhead garage door. The lift tipped over and the employee fell to the concrete floor about 18-20 feet below. The employee suffered a head injury, broken ribs, and a broken pelvis." | |
| 2025 | FL | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was offloading a new boom lift from a transporter truck. As the boom lift s rear wheels reached the tail lift of the truck, the tail lift broke, causing the boom lift to fall. As a result of the sudden drop, the employee was lifted into the air, striking several objects. The employee was hospitalized due to a fractured back and a left leg injury that required stitches." | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "On 7/17/2025, at around 1:30 PM, two employees were working in an aerial lift installing sheet metal to the side of a building. One of the connection points between the aerial lift basket and the aerial lift boom broke, causing the employees to fall from the collapsing basket. The employees fell 24 feet to the concrete surface, resulting in multiple fractures and blunt force trauma injuries to the head and body of both employees. Both employees were hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Real Estate | "An employee was unloading a boom from a rollback truck when the boom drove off the truck and landed on the ground. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ankles." | |
| 2025 | FL | Manufacturing | "Employees were loading a scissor lift onto a rollback truck when the scissor lift turned and slid down the rollback truck. The scissor lift fell over sideways and it's guardrails struck an employee, fracturing their hip. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery." | |
| 2025 | AL | Other Services | "On July 25, 2025, an employee was lowering a vehicle on a lift. The employee's right index finger was caught in the lift and partially amputated." | |
| 2025 | TX | Real Estate | "A driver pulled into the facility yard and backed their truck up to a dock. He was unloading an 85-foot articulating boom lift when the boom lift fell. He was slung out of the bucket of the boom lift and his self-retracting lifeline (SRL) broke. He impacted the outside of the bucket. The employee sustained a fracture to his heel plate and toes on his right foot." | |
| 2025 | ID | Manufacturing | "An employee was cleaning the area under a mobile elevated work platform. The platform lowered and struck the employee, resulting in a fractured right femur. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | NY | Other Services | "An employee was operating a hoist and receiving the rope as it came into the hoist. Tape on a rope splice caught her glove and pulled her right hand into the capstan. The employee sustained crushing injuries resulting in amputations of the ring and little fingertips to the first knuckle." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.