How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 295 severe cases involving food products over the last decade. Thermal burns are the primary injury type, accounting for 82 percent of all reported incidents. These injuries often require extensive medical treatment and time away from work.
The severity of these burns is compounded by the nature of the substance. Hot oil splashes frequently impact your hands, arms, and face during high-pressure kitchen operations.
How these injuries happen
Contact with hot objects or substances is the leading cause of injury, responsible for 78 percent of all reported incidents. You are most often injured when oil splashes during disposal, when fryers collapse due to improper securing, or when equipment gaskets fail under pressure.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Contact with hot objects or substances | 231 |
| 2 | Exposure to harmful substances— unspecified | 14 |
| 3 | Struck by falling object | 11 |
| 4 | Inhalation of harmful substance | 8 |
| 5 | Exposure to harmful substance through exposed tissue | 6 |
| 6 | Fire— small-scale, limited | 6 |
| 7 | Flash fire | 3 |
| 8 | Injured by object handled by person | 2 |
Where injuries happen most
Accommodation and food services account for 38 percent of all reported incidents, followed by manufacturing at 30 percent. In these environments, the high volume of cooking oil usage combined with fast-paced production schedules creates a risk for thermal injuries.
Real cases like yours
Recurring patterns in these reports show that most injuries happen during routine tasks like oil disposal, fryer maintenance, or equipment operation. You may suffer severe burns when equipment fails or when you are forced to work with unstable fryers. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you determine if employer negligence played a role.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | FL | Health Care | "An employee went outside to dispose of oil from a cooking pot into a large dumpster. When dumping the hot oil, it splashed back and burned her right hand. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | SD | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was working to change the cooking oil in a 1-gallon countertop fryer. The fryer was held in place by three C-clamps. When two of the clamps were removed, the fryer fell and the hot oil contacted the employee from the waist down. The employee sustained burns to their lower body." | |
| 2025 | NE | Manufacturing | "An employee was bringing a filter online. When the employee opened a valve to initiate flow through the filter, the gasket on the filter housing failed, spraying a water/erythritol mixture (heated to about 175 degrees Fahrenheit) toward the employee. The employee moved back quickly and their chemical suit caught on something, causing it to open. The mixture burned the employee's abdomen and left arm." | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "A technician was pushing a mobile filtration unit (MFU) with cooking oil up the ramp of a van when he slipped. The machine shifted and hot cooking oil spilled on the employee and got inside his shoes. The employee sustained third-degree burns to both feet." | |
| 2025 | WV | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was cooking chicken when grease splashed on her face. She was hospitalized with burns to her face above her lip and below her right eyebrow." | |
| 2025 | WI | Manufacturing | "As an employee was opening an infeed valve. Hot tallow oil in the line above fell back down the pipe and came out of an open pressure relief valve, striking the employee on the thighs. The employee was hospitalized with second-degree burns to his thigh. Another employee sustained burns to their back but they were not hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Manufacturing | "An employee was changing a strainer when 180- to 190-degree sugar solution splashed from an open valve onto the employee, who suffered burns." | |
| 2025 | GA | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was cleaning around a fryer when their hand contacted hot grease/shortening from the fryer. The employee sustained burns to their hand." | |
| 2025 | NJ | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was cleaning the kitchen for closing and sustained burns to their face and body after a fryer tipped over and hot oil splashed onto the employee. " | |
| 2025 | TX | Health Care | "An employee was transferring a patient when they experienced an allergic reaction to peanuts and peanut shells in the patient's bedsheets." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.
Frequently asked questions
Seek immediate medical attention to assess the depth and severity of the burn. Once you are stable, report the incident to your supervisor in writing to ensure an official record is created. An attorney can help you document the scene and gather evidence of any equipment failures.
Employers are required to provide a safe workplace and maintain equipment according to safety standards. If a fryer was improperly clamped or maintained, leading to a spill, your employer may be held liable for your injuries. An attorney can investigate whether your employer violated safety protocols.
Workers' Compensation is designed to cover medical expenses and lost wages for injuries sustained on the job, including thermal burns. You are generally entitled to these benefits regardless of fault, provided the injury occurred during work activities. An attorney can ensure your claim is filed correctly and that you receive the full benefits you are owed.
While Workers' Compensation is typically the primary remedy, you may have additional legal options if a third-party product, such as a defective fryer or faulty protective gear, caused your injury. An attorney can evaluate the circumstances of your accident to determine if a third-party claim is appropriate.