How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 266 severe incidents involving heating and cooking machinery over the last decade. Thermal burns are the most frequent injury type, often resulting from direct contact with heated surfaces or steam, while amputations frequently occur during routine equipment maintenance.
These injuries are particularly severe because they often involve your fingers, which account for 32% of all reported cases. The permanent nature of these injuries frequently leads to long-term disability and significant time away from your job.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Injuries from this machinery typically occur when you are caught or entangled in running equipment during normal operation, which accounts for 24% of all incidents. Contact with hot objects or substances is the second most common cause, often resulting from inadequate insulation or failure to follow safety protocols during cleaning and maintenance. In other instances, heavy appliances fall during installation or transport, causing crushing injuries and fractures.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 62 |
| 2 | Contact with hot objects or substances | 58 |
| 3 | Struck by falling object | 30 |
| 4 | Direct exposure to electricity | 17 |
| 5 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 16 |
| 6 | Other fall to lower level | 11 |
| 7 | Explosion— n.e.c. | 11 |
| 8 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 10 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing leads all sectors with 40% of reported incidents, largely due to the constant use of industrial ovens, autoclaves, and high-heat processing equipment. Accommodation and food services follow at 18%, where the high-pressure environment and frequent handling of commercial cooking appliances increase your risk of contact burns and machinery-related accidents.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports involve you performing routine maintenance or installation without proper lockout/tagout procedures, leading to accidental machine activation. Other incidents involve heavy equipment falling during transport or you suffering severe burns while lighting pilot systems. 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 | NY | Real Estate | "An employee was working with a co-worker to unload an industrial oven from a box truck. The oven fell and struck the employee, resulting in hospitalization for two fractured ribs and three fractured vertebrae." | |
| 2025 | OH | Manufacturing | "On July 5, 2025, an employee was working to lubricate the chain on an autoclave machine in the coating factory. Their left index finger was caught in the machine resulting in surgical amputation at the first joint. The machine was guarded at the time, but was not locked out/tagged out." | |
| 2025 | NJ | Manufacturing | "A STERIS installer had uncrated a drying cabinet and was working with a STERIS installation specialist to tilt the cabinet up. As the unit was being tilted up, it slid forward, causing both employees to lose balance. The drying cabinet fell on the installer s right middle finger, resulting in an open fracture and amputation of the distal fingertip." | |
| 2025 | FL | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was lifting a hot chocolate machine when he lost his grip and the machine fell on his right leg/foot. The employee sustained fractures to his right tibia and fibula." | |
| 2025 | TX | Utilities | "An employee was lighting a tankless water heater when an explosion occurred and the employee was burned." | |
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was greasing a furnace when their left index finger was caught in a gear and amputated." | |
| 2025 | FL | Other Services | "An employee was performing sheet pressing. The employee reached down to the right to get a sheet. The damp sheets were heavy and the employee placed his left arm on the lower presser. The employee reached to remove the cover from the bin to get a sheet when the unguarded switch was inadvertently activated causing the presser to actuate the upper press. The upper presser closed down on the employee's arm resulting in hospitalization with burns." | |
| 2025 | FL | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was cutting the cord of a microwave that was intended for recycling. The cord became tangled in one of the employee's boots, causing him to fall. The microwave then fell on top of the employee, striking his right shoulder. The employee required shoulder surgery." | |
| 2024 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was using an overhead crane move a cover plate for a zinc kettle. Steel plates on the floor next to the kettle, used for access to the burner assemblies below, provided the walking/working surface. The plates had been removed earlier in the day and the employee fell through a gap. The burners were not on at the time. He suffered three broken ribs and a laceration on the back of his head that required stitches." | |
| 2024 | IL | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was standing on a cook range to change out hood vents when their foot slipped into a blancher. The employee sustained burns to their right foot from the hot water." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.