How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 1,129 severe cases involving pipes and tubing over the last decade. These incidents frequently result in fractures, which represent 36% of all reported injuries, often requiring extensive medical intervention and long-term recovery.
The severity of these accidents is underscored by the high rate of amputations, which account for 33% of cases. Fingers are the most commonly affected body part, suffering 37% of all injuries as you handle heavy materials or operate cutting machinery.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Injuries involving pipes and tubing are primarily driven by mechanical hazards. Struck by falling objects accounts for 37% of all incidents, often occurring when heavy bundles shift or collapse during transport. Additionally, you are frequently caught between running equipment and pipes, leading to severe crushing or amputation injuries when kinetic energy is released unexpectedly.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Struck by falling object | 406 |
| 2 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 229 |
| 3 | Struck by rolling, sliding, or shifting objects—non-running | 110 |
| 4 | Struck by propelled object or substance | 86 |
| 5 | Struck by propelled, falling, or suspended object— unspecified | 69 |
| 6 | Struck by suspended or swinging object | 57 |
| 7 | Caught or wedged between objects— nonrunning | 20 |
| 8 | Injured by object handled by person | 19 |
Where injuries happen most
Construction leads all sectors with 34% of reported incidents, as you handle heavy cast iron and metal piping. Manufacturing follows at 28%, where the combination of automated cutting machinery and heavy material handling creates frequent opportunities for pinch-point injuries and equipment malfunctions.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents involve stored kinetic energy, unexpected equipment jams, and the failure of safety bands on heavy bundles. You are often struck when pipes shift during repositioning or when tension is released during a cut. If any of these scenarios sound like what happened to you, an attorney can help you determine if employer negligence played a role.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | PA | Manufacturing | "An employee was operating equipment to cut a copper pipe (20 feet in length, 2 inches in diameter) when a jam occurred between the revolver assembly and the pinch roller assembly. He assessed the jam and determined that the copper pipe needed to be cut using a battery-powered reciprocating saw. He made two cuts on the pipe with the reciprocating saw. When the second cut was finished, kinetic energy stored within the pipe due to the jam released, and the pipe struck the employee's left hand. The employee's index fingertip was partially amputated before the first knuckle without bone loss." | |
| 2025 | GA | Construction | "An employee was cutting a cast iron pipe when the pipe fell onto his right hand, resulting in amputation of the thumb. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Manufacturing | "An employee was preparing bundles of 24-foot square metal tubing to be loaded onto a truck and cut the safety band for a bundle. While the employee was removing a piece of dunnage from a bundle, they bumped the bundle with their leg. The metal tubing then fell forward and struck the employee, causing a fractured left ankle." | |
| 2025 | MS | Manufacturing | "An employee was rolling pipe on a table to reposition it and finish grinding on the edge. Another pipe (weighing 4 tons) was moving down the same table and struck the employee. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs and a partial lung collapse on the right side." | |
| 2025 | TX | Mining | "An employee was helping load pipes on a trailer using a front-end loader. A 3,000-pound pipe came off and caused an open fracture to his right leg." | |
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee of UPS Industrial Services, LLC, was helping offload 40-foot sections of 8-inch pipe (weighing 3,000 pounds each) from a forklift in the laydown yard. As he reached to remove a piece of dunnage from the forklift tines, a pipe began to roll toward him from the back of the forklift mast toward the front. The pipe then fell from the forklift forks, catching his left and right legs against another pipe on the ground. He suffered fractures to both lower legs and was hospitalized, requiring surgery." | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "An employee was cutting 2-inch tubing off a fence panel at a job site. To access the opposite side for continued work, they used the forks of a front loader to flip the panel over. During this maneuver, the tubing pipe became dislodged from the panel. Upon hitting the ground, the pipe rebounded toward the employee, who was standing approximately 15 feet away. The dislodged pipe struck the employee's face, resulting in fractures to their nose and cheek bone, a dislocated jaw, and an injury to their left eye." | |
| 2025 | NY | Construction | "Employees were moving an electrical utility line and removing an electrical box. As they were preparing to lift a 4-inch conduit using an excavator, the conduit swung and struck the injured employee, causing lacerations, fracturing their left arm, and bruising their ribs. They were hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | FL | Construction | "An employee was changing batteries in a drill while a pressure test was being conducted on a pipe. The pipe flung loose under the pressure and struck the employee on the left side of their face. The employee sustained a fracture to the frontal bone above the eye, bruising, swelling, and bleeding." | |
| 2025 | WI | Manufacturing | "An employee was preparing a steel tube for shipping. The tube measured 3 inches in diameter and 7 feet long. The employee slid the tube inside another tube measuring 4 inches in diameter when their left little finger became pinched between the two pieces, resulting in a partial fingertip amputation including the lost of tissue and skin that required stitches." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.