How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 509 severe incidents involving light earth-moving machinery over the last decade. Fractures are the most common injury type, representing 52% of all reported cases, often resulting in complex surgeries and extended recovery periods.
These machines frequently cause severe trauma to fingers and legs. The high rate of amputations and fractures highlights the extreme physical force involved when equipment malfunctions or you lose control.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Injuries involving this equipment often occur when you are struck by vehicles in nonroadway areas, which accounts for 27% of all incidents. Other common scenarios include being struck by rolling machinery, falling from the equipment, or becoming caught between moving parts and stationary objects.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area | 135 |
| 2 | Struck by rolling powered vehicle or machinery | 80 |
| 3 | Other fall to lower level | 64 |
| 4 | Nonroadway noncollision incident | 61 |
| 5 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 31 |
| 6 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 28 |
| 7 | Nonroadway collision with object other than vehicle | 25 |
| 8 | Pedestrian incidents involving motorized land vehicles, n.e.c. | 10 |
Where injuries happen most
Construction leads all sectors with 40% of reported incidents, as the high-paced nature of site work increases the risk of machinery-pedestrian contact. Manufacturing and administrative services also see significant injury rates due to the frequent use of compact loaders in material handling and site maintenance tasks.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents include you being pinned by tracks, caught in closing doors, or struck after falling from equipment during operation. These reports often reveal failures in equipment maintenance or lapses in site safety protocols. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you review the specifics of your incident.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | OH | Utilities | "On July 2, 2025, at approximately 8:45 AM, an employee was loading a spool of fence material into a dispensing attachment on a skid steer when the doors of the equipment closed. The employee's jaw/cheeks were caught in the closing doors, resulting in hospitalization with fractures to the jaw and cheek." | |
| 2025 | MA | Construction | "An employee was operating a compact loader to move concrete guardrail post(s) from the side of the road onto a truck. The compact loader struck a grade change while moving from the grass shoulder area onto the road. He fell from the back plate he was riding on and struck his head and face on the pavement. He lost consciousness and sustained multiple fractures and contusions from his face to his ribs, including fractures to his scapula, clavicle, ribs, nose, and cheekbone." | |
| 2025 | TX | Retail Trade | "An employee was working on a mini-excavator with a stuck ignition. He was shutting down the mini-excavator engine when he suffered an amputation of the left middle fingertip." | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "On May 23, 2025, at approximately 10:50 a.m. the injured employee was assisting the operator of a mini excavator to ensure the grade/depth of an excavation. He crossed a trench that is 14" wide with a grade stick (2" x 2") in his hand and ended up on the ground behind the mini excavator. Simultaneously, the mini excavator moved backward and the base of the grading stick was caught by the tracks of the excavator, causing the employee to fall to the ground and become pinned underneath the excavator track. The employee sustained fractures to his right and left femurs, his pelvis, and his right ankle." | |
| 2025 | TX | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was replacing a hydraulic cylinder on a mini-excavator. The employee was positioning the machine while it was in a trailer when their right leg became pinned between a track and the trailer, resulting in severe lacerations to the lower leg." | |
| 2025 | NE | Other Services | "Two employees were troubleshooting a compact track loader that would not start. The cab had been tilted to diagnose the issue. The employees were working to lower the cab back down; the injured employee was releasing the latch and the other employee was lowering the cab. The injured employee's lower arm/hand became caught in a pinch point. He was hospitalized with fractures to the lower arm/hand." | |
| 2025 | OH | Construction | "An employee was operating a skid steer. He was loading sand into the large hopper when he brought the bucket down and his foot was pinched between the arms of the crossbar and the frame of the cab. As the arms continued to come down, they pulled his foot and ankle over the edge of the cab, resulting in a broken leg." | |
| 2025 | MO | Utilities | "A skid steer was being used to transport crate brackets for staging onto installed piles. An employee approached a crate to get two brackets. He picked up the brackets and turned left to walk and place the brackets on a pile. The skid steer traversed forward, making contact with the employee's right boot and causing him to fall on the ground. The skid steer continued to move forward, driving over the employee's right leg just above the knee. The employee sustained a broken leg." | |
| 2025 | GA | Construction | "An employee was climbing into a skid steer after picking up debris when his left foot got caught on the bucket release. He was removing himself from the bucket release when the skid steer ran over both of his feet, resulting in fractured feet and dislocated ankles." | |
| 2025 | PA | Administrative Services | "An employee was driving a mini sub-compact wheel loader, using it to move tree branches from a residential property onto the street in front of the property. After branches were unloaded onto the street, the empty loader (with its arms still raised) tipped over in the street. The employee suffered broken fingers in the left hand." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.