How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 28 severe cases of workplace infection over the past decade. Respiratory viral diseases account for 32% of these incidents, often leading to prolonged hospitalization and significant recovery time for you.
These injuries are particularly severe because they often involve systemic illness, requiring intensive medical intervention and long-term monitoring for complications.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Injuries from infectious agents occur primarily through direct contact with harmful substances. Exposure to harmful substance through exposed tissue accounts for 36% of all incidents, often occurring when you encounter contaminated surfaces or fluids. Inhalation of harmful substances is another primary cause, frequently linked to aerosolized bacteria in water systems or poorly maintained cooling towers.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exposure to harmful substance through exposed tissue | 10 |
| 2 | Exposure to harmful substances— unspecified | 9 |
| 3 | Inhalation of harmful substance | 8 |
| 4 | Exposure to harmful substance—multiple routes of exposure | 1 |
Where injuries happen most
Health care accounts for 29% of all infectious agent incidents, as you face constant exposure to pathogens in these environments. Manufacturing also shows high injury rates at 25%, where you may be exposed to bacteria through contaminated coolant systems or aerosolized water droplets in industrial machinery.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents include exposure to pathogens through contaminated water systems, accidental contact with cleaning solutions on open wounds, and direct transmission from patients in clinical settings. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you review the specifics of your exposure to determine if your employer failed to provide a safe environment.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | ID | Health Care | "On March 5, 2025, a nurse was caring for patients in the emergency department when she was exposed to norovirus and rhinovirus. The employee tested positive for norovirus and rhinovirus and was hospitalized." | |
| 2024 | TX | Administrative Services | "On September 16, 2024, an employee was filling a mop bucket from a dispenser with a solution of water and cleaning chemicals when some of the solution splashed onto a wound on his foot and it became swollen. The employee was hospitalized with an infection to the foot." | |
| 2024 | NY | Manufacturing | "An employee was working at his desk inside the manufacturing plant near a manual lathe machine that makes spare parts from metal. The machine has coolant that tested positive for Legionella that caused the employee to develop severe respiratory symptoms requiring hospitalization." | |
| 2023 | AR | Manufacturing | "An employee was cleaning the screens of a water system and used compressed air to blow out and clean the metal screens. This aerosolized water droplets and the employee was exposed to Legionella pneumophila bacteria, resulting in pneumonia that required hospitalization." | |
| 2023 | CT | Health Care | "An employee was taking the trash out to an area outside of the building when they were exposed to legionella bacteria in the air from a nearby cooling tower. The employee developed pneumonia and was hospitalized with Legionnaire's disease." | |
| 2023 | NY | Public Administration | "An employee became ill and was hospitalized for respiratory illness after exposure to legionella bacteria." | |
| 2022 | TX | Professional Services | "A veterinary employee developed a swelling in the left wrist, caused by an animal-borne bacterial infection." | |
| 2022 | TX | Professional Services | "An employee was performing a heart stick/blood draw on an animal before euthanasia, using an 18 gauge needle with syringe. The infected needle came out of the animal and stuck the employee on his left thumb." | |
| 2022 | MA | Manufacturing | "An employee bumped his elbow and sustained a bacterial infection." | |
| 2021 | NJ | Health Care | "An employee who was caring for patients received a bacterial infection." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.