How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 55 severe incidents involving material handling machinery over the past 18 months. These accidents frequently result in amputations, which account for 53% of all reported cases, often leaving you with permanent physical limitations.
The severity of these injuries is driven by the high-torque nature of palletizers and robotic systems. With 60% of cases involving finger injuries, the impact on your ability to return to your previous role is often immediate and life-altering.
How these injuries happen
Most injuries occur when you are struck by or caught in running equipment during maintenance, cleaning, or testing. These incidents often happen when a machine is not properly locked out, allowing the carriage or motor chain to move unexpectedly while you are in the danger zone.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Struck by running powered equipment— during maintenance, cleaning, testing | 31 |
| 2 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 7 |
| 3 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 4 |
| 4 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 3 |
| 5 | Struck by rolling powered vehicle or machinery | 3 |
| 6 | Other fall to lower level | 1 |
| 7 | Struck by running powered equipment— n.e.c. | 1 |
| 8 | Caught or wedged between objects— nonrunning | 1 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 71% of all reported incidents, as high-speed production lines require constant interaction with palletizers and cuber machines. The pressure to maintain uptime often leads to shortcuts during routine inspections, increasing your risk of severe entanglement.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports include you being pinned by moving carriages or suffering fingertip amputations while clearing jams or performing maintenance on robotic systems. These incidents frequently stem from a failure to follow established lockout-tagout procedures. If your injury occurred while you were performing maintenance or clearing a machine blockage, an attorney can help you review the specifics of your incident.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | IL | Manufacturing | "An employee was running the cuber machine (moves and stacks blocks onto pallets) in the block plant. He went to manually move some blocks and the carriage of the cuber moved and pinned his midsection (abdomen, pelvis, and lower back region). The employee was hospitalized with fractures to his bottom two ribs and L3 vertebra. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time." | |
| 2025 | OH | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was operating a battery extractor for a powered industrial truck and was grabbing the battery when the mass from the extractor pushed back. His right middle fingertip was pinched between the battery and the extractor resulting in amputation at the first knuckle." | |
| 2025 | MA | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was carrying out a preventative maintenance inspection on a robotic picker. As the employee was moving metal lift bands to inspect for damage and tears, they tangled around the support structure of the robot service grid. When the employee went to free the bands, the banding severely lacerated the employee's left hand and index finger." | |
| 2025 | GA | Manufacturing | "While explaining to a co-worker how to install a new gate on the palletizer machine, an employee's left thumb tip was amputated by the machine's piston." | |
| 2025 | NJ | Manufacturing | "An employee was conducting maintenance on the bag in box (BIB) palletizer machine when the motor chain jumped, pulling his right index finger into the chain drive attached to the motor and causing a fingertip amputation." | |
| 2025 | AL | Manufacturing | "An employee was replacing bolts on the lumber stacker. The employee grabbed a ladder and climbed up under the stacker between the carriage and an I-beam to replace a bolt. After the employee finished, he instructed the operator to release the e-stop so he could watch the stacker run. However, the lumber stacker was pre-cycled and once the e-stop was disengaged the carriage pinned the employee against the I-beam. The employee sustained fractures to their chest and head, a concussion, and internal bleeding. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | TX | Retail Trade | "An employee was working on tote de-nester when the belt unbound, sending his right hand through a gear pulley. The employee sustained lacerations to the little, ring, and middle fingers. The little finger was amputated at the first knuckle, the ring finger requires 8 sutures, and the middle finger was broken and it's fingernail was crushed." | |
| 2025 | NJ | Manufacturing | "An employee was adjusting a transfer cart that was misaligned with the track when the cart ran over his right foot and amputated three toes. " | |
| 2025 | MA | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was operating an industrial take-up machine to pull wire from a rack of spools so that the wire could be cut to length and wrapped onto one large spool. The take-up machine was used to turn the spool as the employee wrapped mule tape around the wire to secure it on the spool. The mule tape wrapped around the employee's fingers causing amputations to their right ring and little fingertips." | |
| 2025 | OH | Manufacturing | "An employee was raking screws at the transfer cart from the paint bath to the oven when a screw fell on the ground. While the employee was picking up the screw, an automated transfer cart moved and amputated their left little finger to the first knuckle." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, Workers' Compensation is designed to cover medical expenses and lost wages for injuries you sustain while operating or maintaining workplace machinery. Because these injuries often involve permanent damage like amputations, your claim may require a detailed assessment of future disability. An attorney can help you ensure your claim accurately reflects the long-term impact of your injury.
Employers are strictly required to implement energy control procedures under OSHA standards to prevent machines from starting during maintenance. If your employer failed to provide proper training or equipment to lock out the machine, this may be a critical factor in your claim. An attorney can help you investigate whether safety violations contributed to your accident.
Amputations are the most frequent injury type reported for this machinery, accounting for 53% of all severe cases. These injuries often occur when your hands or fingers are caught in pinch points or chain drives during operation. An attorney can help you navigate the complex process of securing benefits for permanent partial disability.
OSHA requires employers to report any incident resulting in an amputation or hospitalization within 24 hours. While an OSHA investigation focuses on workplace safety violations, it can provide essential documentation for your Workers' Compensation claim. An attorney can help you understand how these findings may support your right to benefits.