How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 1,882 severe incidents involving molding and die-cast machinery over the last decade. Amputations, avulsions, and enucleations account for 74% of these cases, reflecting the extreme force these machines exert during operation.
Your risk of injury is concentrated in your fingers, which are affected in 78% of all reported incidents. These injuries frequently result in permanent loss of function, requiring extensive medical intervention and long-term rehabilitation.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Most injuries occur when you are caught or entangled in running powered equipment during normal operation, which accounts for 82% of all reported events. These accidents often happen during routine adjustments, clearing jams, or troubleshooting malfunctions when the machine cycles unexpectedly. When safety guards are missing, bypassed, or improperly calibrated, the machine can close on your hand or arm before you have time to react.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 1,525 |
| 2 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 125 |
| 3 | Struck by running powered equipment— during maintenance, cleaning, testing | 50 |
| 4 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 48 |
| 5 | Contact with hot objects or substances | 30 |
| 6 | Other fall to lower level | 15 |
| 7 | Struck by falling object | 14 |
| 8 | Struck by rolling, sliding, or shifting objects—non-running | 10 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 89% of all reported injuries involving molding and die-cast equipment. The high-speed, repetitive nature of production lines in this sector creates constant exposure to pinch points, where even a momentary lapse in machine guarding or a failure in safety interlocks can lead to severe injury.
Real cases like yours
Reported incidents frequently involve you performing routine adjustments or troubleshooting mechanical failures when the machine cycles unexpectedly. These patterns often reveal failures in lockout-tagout procedures or inadequate machine guarding that should have prevented physical contact with moving parts. 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 contributed to your injury.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was adjusting the oscillator pressure injector on a die-cast machine when his right thumb contacted the adjustment handle. The machine oscillated and closed on his right thumb. The tip of the thumb was pinched and amputated between the die and the handle." | |
| 2025 | MS | Manufacturing | "An employee was performing regular duties in the cast house and sustained heat exhaustion." | |
| 2025 | CO | Manufacturing | "An employee was troubleshooting a caster machine. While removing a cap cover, the catch pan moved up and caught his right arm against the caster blocks. He suffered lacerations and an open break of the ulna. He was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was operating a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) fusion machine. The machine's carriage was directing a fitting that was being lifted from the machine when the employee's left ring finger was crushed in a pinch point, resulting in a fingertip amputation." | |
| 2025 | IL | Manufacturing | "Two employees were operating an aluminum die casting machine when a piston that pushed molten aluminum into the mold stopped dispensing aluminum correctly. After they had spent several hours fixing the issue, the machine cycled and the die closed on one employee's right hand. The employee suffered amputations to the index fingertip and the thumb at the knuckle." | |
| 2025 | TX | Retail Trade | "An employee was clearing a bottle jam in the trimmer section of a blow mold machine when the machine restarted. The employee sustained amputation of their right thumb and lacerations to their right third and fifth fingers. The machine was energized and a guard was in place at the time." | |
| 2025 | FL | Manufacturing | "An employee was working by the slag side of a reverb in the furnace department. They returned home after the end of their shift and began feeling muscle cramps, resulting in hospitalization due to dehydration." | |
| 2025 | OK | Manufacturing | "An employee was looking into a furnace to check for parts. When the furnace closed, the employee's right little finger was caught by a piece of metal, resulting in a partial amputation." | |
| 2025 | OH | Other Services | "On June 13, 2025, an employee was applying sprayed concrete to the top of coke ovens in a tunnel that is typically around 200 degrees. Later in the day, they began to show signs of heat-related illness, resulting in hospitalization. " | |
| 2025 | NE | Manufacturing | "An employee was lighting a pilot light that burns off residual oxygen in the purge chamber of a heat-treating furnace. Residual gas and built-up oxygen in the purge chamber caused an explosion, which blew the front of the furnace's door off its track and the hood/exhaust system off its rivets. The employee was knocked down and suffered burns and lacerations to the left side of his face." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.