How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 84 severe cases involving loading docks and dock plates over the past year and a half. Fractures are the most common injury type, accounting for 43% of all reported incidents.
These injuries are frequently severe, with fingers being the most commonly affected body part in 31% of cases. The high rate of amputations and fractures often leads to long-term recovery needs and significant time away from work.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Injuries at loading docks typically occur when you fall to lower levels, which accounts for 51% of all reported incidents. These accidents often involve you stepping off an unguarded edge, tripping over uneven dock plates, or falling when equipment like chains or dock levelers fail unexpectedly.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Other fall to lower level | 38 |
| 2 | Fall on same level | 10 |
| 3 | Caught or wedged between objects— nonrunning | 8 |
| 4 | Struck by falling object | 6 |
| 5 | Fall to lower level from collapsing structure or equipment | 3 |
| 6 | Fall to lower level resulting from exposure or contact | 2 |
| 7 | Struck by running powered equipment— during maintenance, cleaning, testing | 2 |
| 8 | Injured by object handled by person | 2 |
Where injuries happen most
Transportation and warehousing industries account for 29% of all loading dock injuries. The high volume of freight movement, combined with the constant use of heavy machinery and elevated platforms, creates a risk where even minor lapses in safety protocols can lead to serious harm.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents include equipment malfunctions, such as dock plates that stick and then drop suddenly, or structural failures like broken chains and missing guardrails. These reports show that you are often injured while performing routine tasks like cleaning, staging inventory, or opening trailer seals. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you evaluate your claim.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | IN | Professional Services | "An employee was working to offload a trailer when the dock plate fell and amputated his big toe." | |
| 2025 | NJ | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was cutting the seal on a delivery truck for an inventory delivery. He fell from the loading dock to the concrete below, fracturing his humerus." | |
| 2025 | OH | Manufacturing | "An employee was working to extend a dock plate from inside a semi-trailer. The dock plate was stuck. The employee's right hand was underneath the dock plate when the plate suddenly released and fell onto their hand. The employee sustained partial amputations to the index and middle fingers. They also sustained lacerations to the index and little fingers." | |
| 2025 | IL | Manufacturing | "An employee had been cleaning red garbage bins (gondolas) near the dock area. The employee tripped and fell off the dock. The employee sustained fractures to an elbow and two ribs, and had bleeding in their lungs." | |
| 2025 | IL | Manufacturing | "A temporary employee was sitting on a chain at the loading dock and planning work tasks. The chain broke and the employee fell off the loading dock, landing on the pavement outside of the building. The employee was hospitalized with a head laceration, a fractured left clavicle, fractured ribs, and a possible collapsed lung." | |
| 2025 | FL | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was closing a dock door gate when they slipped and fell from the dock to the concrete floor, resulting in hospitalization with a broken arm that required surgery." | |
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was engaging a manual spring-type ramp for a docking bay and needed to put weight on the ramp to bring it down. He asked a temporary employee to help him by walking over and adding his weight to the ramp. As the employee bent down and pulled the front ring, the temporary employee went to grab a second ring at the other end of the ramp used for adjusting the angle of the flap. The temporary employee's right index fingertip became caught in the hinge between the dock plate and the dock flap. The hinge closed and he sustained amputation of his right index fingertip to the first knuckle." | |
| 2025 | TX | Transportation & Warehousing | "On June 26, 2025, an employee was using a broom to manually release an electric dock lock at the inbound dock and fell less than 4 feet out the dock door. Her right foot and ankle impacted the concrete ground, causing an ankle fracture." | |
| 2025 | MO | Mining | "A truck driver was loading granite slabs onto a truck bed when he fell through a gap between the loading dock edge and the truck bed and landed on the ground in the bay below. The driver was hospitalized with a broken tibia and fibula, a dislocated shoulder, and contusions." | |
| 2025 | NJ | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was manually lifting a dock leveler onto a truck. His finger was caught between the edge of the leveler and the truck bed, resulting in a partial amputation to the fingertip." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.