How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 24 severe cases involving motorboats and yachts over the last decade. Amputations are the most frequent injury type, occurring in 35% of these incidents.
These injuries are uniquely severe due to the combination of high-speed machinery and unstable surfaces. Finger injuries account for 40% of all cases, reflecting the extreme risk posed by moving parts and heavy equipment on board.
How these injuries happen
Injuries involving motorboats and yachts typically occur during normal operation, which accounts for 26% of all reported incidents. You may be harmed by falls to lower levels or when caught between running equipment and other objects. Collisions with sandbars or other vessels often launch you, leading to traumatic head injuries and fractures.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Incidents onboard water vehicle in normal operation | 6 |
| 2 | Other fall to lower level | 4 |
| 3 | Water vehicle collisions | 2 |
| 4 | Struck by rolling powered vehicle or machinery | 2 |
| 5 | Other water vehicle incident n.e.c. | 2 |
| 6 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 2 |
| 7 | Vehicle or machinery fire | 1 |
| 8 | Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area | 1 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing leads with 42% of all reported incidents, largely due to the risks inherent in boat construction, maintenance, and testing. These environments require constant interaction with heavy machinery and hazardous surfaces, creating a high likelihood of severe injury.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents include being struck by propellers during acceleration, falling through open manholes during maintenance, or suffering crush injuries from heavy doors. 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 harm.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | FL | Manufacturing | "An employee was working in the hull of a boat, applying resin as part of lamination activities. He sat down and lost consciousness due to heat exhaustion. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Accommodation & Food Services | "An employee was closing a ferry pilot house door. The door caught the employee's right little finger, causing the amputation of the fingertip." | |
| 2024 | CA | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee had been preparing a 38-foot dive boat for an upcoming trip. He went to retrieve coffee (stock) from a 46-foot boat that was tied to the dock and was undergoing maintenance. Upon walking onto this boat, the employee fell down an open manhole and contacted various pieces of compressed air equipment. The employee sustained four broken ribs, a pneumothorax, and bruised knees." | |
| 2024 | UT | Public Administration | "Four employees were on a boat, conducting a fish survey on a river, when the boat struck a sandbar. One employee was launched off the boat, suffered head trauma, and was hospitalized." | |
| 2024 | NY | Arts & Entertainment | "A lifeguard fell out of an inflatable power boat as it was accelerating and was struck by the boat's engine. The propeller blades struck him causing lacerations to his arms, shoulders, and face, as well as a jaw fracture and the loss of several teeth." | |
| 2024 | NC | Manufacturing | "An employee was standing on a boat, working on its bow, when he fell. He landed on the concrete ground about 12 feet below and suffered broken bones in an arm." | |
| 2024 | CA | Manufacturing | "An employee was on a pier mooring a small, rigid inflatable boat. Their fingers were caught between the boat recovery line and the pier piling when the recovery line came under significant strain due to rough seas, resulting in a severe laceration to the left index finger and medical amputation of the left middle finger." | |
| 2024 | KY | Construction | "An employee was leaving a work site on a barge due to adverse weather conditions. While on their way back to shore in a small boat, the boat went up a large swell and when it came back down, it went bow first into another swell and was immediately swamped. All the boat passengers fell into the river water, which was approximately 49.8 Fahrenheit. One employee was hospitalized with hypothermia." | |
| 2024 | AL | Construction | "On January 10, 2024, an employee was working on a tender boat to tie off a hopper barge when his right hand was caught between the float pipe and the push knee of the barge. The employee was hospitalized and the tip of his right thumb was amputated." | |
| 2023 | WI | Manufacturing | "The employee was removing a Bimini top from a pontoon boat using a socket/ratchet, with the Bimini top held under tension by a gas lift assist. As the last bolt on the saddle came off, it snapped upward into place and the employee's left index finger was crushed between the saddle and the Bimini top rail. The employee required surgery and stitches." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.