How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 1,489 severe cases involving nonpressurized containers over the last decade. Amputations and fractures are the most common outcomes, accounting for 54 percent of all reported incidents. These injuries often require extensive medical intervention and long-term rehabilitation.
The physical toll of these incidents is concentrated on your hands. Finger injuries account for 30 percent of all cases, often occurring during manual handling or when containers shift unexpectedly. These injuries frequently lead to permanent loss of function, impacting your ability to return to your previous role.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Injuries from containers typically occur when you handle, stack, or move them. Being struck by a falling object is the primary cause of injury, accounting for 30 percent of all reported incidents. You are frequently caught between containers or suffer overexertion injuries while moving heavy loads by hand, often because the containers are improperly stacked or lack adequate stability.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Struck by falling object | 427 |
| 2 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 279 |
| 3 | Overexertion while materials moving by hand | 236 |
| 4 | Other fall to lower level | 181 |
| 5 | Injured by object handled by person | 35 |
| 6 | Struck by rolling, sliding, or shifting objects—non-running | 33 |
| 7 | Struck by suspended or swinging object | 32 |
| 8 | Overexertion while moving or manipulating external object(s)— unspecified | 32 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 29 percent of container-related injuries, as high-volume production environments require constant movement of materials. Transportation and warehousing follow at 16 percent, where the rapid pace of loading and unloading cargo creates frequent opportunities for crushing injuries and strains when containers are not properly secured or handled.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports involve your fingers getting pinned between containers, heavy loads shifting during transport, or you being struck by falling stacks. These incidents often stem from inadequate training, improper stacking techniques, or a lack of mechanical assistance for heavy loads. 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 | NJ | Manufacturing | "An employee was standing on the edge of the dumpster while pulling out cribbage. The employee fell to the ground, sustaining a fractured elbow and hip. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | VA | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was manually pulling a container from the aft cargo hold of a wide-body jetliner. Their right little finger got pinned between the container and the edge of the cargo door. The employee's finger was partially amputated." | |
| 2025 | NY | Manufacturing | "An employee was stacking totes on a pallet jack when their right little finger got caught between totes and the fingertip was amputated." | |
| 2025 | FL | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was delivering a box to a customer. They assisted the customer with moving the box containing a playground apparatus when the box broke open, causing the employee to lose their grip and strain their lower back." | |
| 2025 | TX | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was using a forklift to move flexible intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) that were stacked on a pallet. The employee exited the forklift to tape up a repair on the bottom IBC of the palleted stack on the forks and an IBC on top of the stack slid off and struck the employee in the torso. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, a fractured pelvis, and a punctured lung." | |
| 2025 | NY | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was working to move a mechanic's toolbox into an on-site container with the assistance of a forklift. He exited the forklift to move the toolbox off the forks when the toolbox tipped onto its side and fell off the forks, landing on top of him. The employee sustained multiple lacerations and a fractured pelvis." | |
| 2025 | GA | Retail Trade | "An employee was loading a glue drum and pushing the glue drum into the loader while the drum was still elevated on the cart. The employee's hand was caught between the drum and the loader and their fingertip was pinched by the lid of the glue drum, resulting in amputation to the fingertip." | |
| 2025 | NY | Construction | "An employee fell off a 5-gallon bucket and an exposed pipe lacerated his bicep. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | MA | Construction | "An employee was assisting with loading bags of cellulose into the cellulose trailer. He experienced a sharp pain in his lower back while lifting a bag. His legs went numb and he collapsed, unable to move. The employee was hospitalized with a back injury." | |
| 2025 | IL | Retail Trade | "On July 9, 2025, an employee was emptying trash and lifting a heavy trash bag when he felt a pop and experienced severe pain. The employee was hospitalized with a ruptured hernia and required surgery." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.