How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 293 severe cases involving mowing and brush removal machinery over the last decade. Amputations, avulsions, and enucleations represent the most frequent injury nature, accounting for 48% of all reported incidents.
Finger injuries are the most common outcome, occurring in 39% of all reported incidents. These injuries often result in permanent disability, requiring you to undergo extensive medical intervention and long-term rehabilitation.
How these injuries happen
Injuries involving mowing equipment often stem from nonroadway noncollision incidents, which account for 26% of all reported cases. You are frequently harmed when machines tip over on slopes, blades remain active during the clearing of jams, or you lose control of equipment on uneven terrain.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nonroadway noncollision incident | 74 |
| 2 | Struck by rolling, sliding, or shifting objects—non-running | 60 |
| 3 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 43 |
| 4 | Nonroadway collision with object other than vehicle | 30 |
| 5 | Struck by rolling powered vehicle or machinery | 19 |
| 6 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 9 |
| 7 | Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area | 8 |
| 8 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 7 |
Where injuries happen most
Administrative services account for 51% of all severe mowing machinery injuries. This high concentration reflects the widespread use of commercial-grade equipment by landscaping and groundskeeping crews who face constant pressure to maintain large properties under tight deadlines.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents include equipment rollovers on hillsides, accidental contact with rotating blades during maintenance, and refueling fires caused by hot mufflers. If your injury occurred while operating or working near mowing machinery, an attorney can help you review the specific circumstances to determine if your employer failed to provide a safe environment.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | FL | Administrative Services | "The injured employee was stepping onto a riding lawn mower when the wheel of the mower was turned by the operator and it caught the injured employee's foot, causing his left ankle to twist. He sustained a sprained left foot and a laceration on his left big toe. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | MS | Public Administration | "An employee was cutting grass on the grounds when grass became stuck under the mower. He was struck by the rotating mower blades while clearing the jam, resulting in lacerations to his right index and middle fingers." | |
| 2025 | OH | Administrative Services | "On July 1, 2025, an employee was mowing on a hill when the mower tipped over and ran over his arm. The employee sustained a fractured arm and a thumb amputation." | |
| 2025 | IL | Administrative Services | "An employee was refueling a commercial-grade riding lawn mower. As he was refilling the tank, the gasoline splashed onto the muffler, which sparked and caught fire. The employee suffered burns to both thighs and the left side of his abdomen." | |
| 2025 | TX | Administrative Services | "An employee was operating a handheld string trimmer at the top of a slope near a road. He slipped on wet grass and fell down the slope. A passing zero-turn lawn mower ran over his left foot, amputating it. The employee was hospitalized for surgery." | |
| 2025 | MT | Administrative Services | "An employee was standing on a standup mower and reversing it when the mower spun around. The employee jumped off the mower and it struck and ran over his right foot, amputating his third, fourth, and fifth toes." | |
| 2025 | NJ | Retail Trade | "An employee was helping a customer remove a lawn mower from the back of a vehicle. The employee suffered an amputation to their middle fingertip, caused by the lawn mower blades." | |
| 2025 | NE | Arts & Entertainment | "An employee was preparing to conduct maintenance on a riding lawn mower and lifted the mower deck upward to its vertical position with assistance from another employee. A third employee pulled a locking pin, causing the front wheel mount to move forward into the cab. The cab entrance hand hold crushed the little fingers on the injured employee's hands. The employee was hospitalized and required surgical amputation of the right little finger to the second joint, as well as debriding and stitches to the left little finger." | |
| 2025 | WI | Administrative Services | "An employee was using a push mower to cut grass. He went to remove a clump of grass from the mower. His right-hand fingers were struck by the mower blade, resulting in the amputation of two fingers and a laceration to the index finger." | |
| 2025 | AL | Administrative Services | "On April 29, 2025, an employee was cutting grass using a zero-turn riding lawnmower. His left arm became caught between a steel post for a pipeline and the rollbar of the mower. The employee was hospitalized with a compound fracture of his lower left arm." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.