How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 345 severe incidents involving printing machinery over the past decade. The vast majority of these cases involve amputations, which account for 73% of all reported injuries from this equipment.
These injuries are uniquely severe because they often involve high-speed rollers and cylinders. Fingers are the most frequently affected body parts, often leading to life-altering trauma that requires extensive medical intervention and long-term rehabilitation.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
The primary cause of these injuries is entanglement in running powered equipment, which accounts for 79% of all reported incidents. You are most often injured during normal operation when your hands or fingers are pulled into nip points between rollers. Other common scenarios involve cleaning or maintenance tasks where machinery is not properly locked out, allowing rollers to catch rags, clothing, or limbs unexpectedly.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 268 |
| 2 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 31 |
| 3 | Struck by running powered equipment— during maintenance, cleaning, testing | 26 |
| 4 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 4 |
| 5 | Other fall to lower level | 3 |
| 6 | Contact with hot objects or substances | 2 |
| 7 | Struck against stationary object | 2 |
| 8 | Caught or wedged between objects— nonrunning | 1 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 87% of all printing machinery injuries. This high concentration is due to the constant operation of heavy-duty presses and the frequent need for manual intervention during paper feeding, plate hanging, and roller cleaning. In these environments, even a momentary lapse in machine guarding or safety protocol can lead to catastrophic contact with moving parts.
Real cases like yours
Recurring patterns in these reports show that most injuries occur when you perform routine tasks like feeding paper, cleaning rollers, or changing print plates. These incidents often happen when you reach into a danger zone to retrieve a fallen item or clear a jam while the machine is still in motion. 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 safety failures contributed to your injury.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | IL | Manufacturing | "An employee was operating a press and manually feeding paper into the press when their right hand was caught in the press, resulting in several broken bones. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | WI | Manufacturing | "On April 9, 2025, an employee was cleaning anilox rollers in a machine with a rag. The machine caught the rag and then the employee's left hand, resulting in amputation of the middle finger." | |
| 2025 | PA | Professional Services | "An employee was imprinting coffee mugs using a screening machine when a piece of paper fell out of the cup. The employee went to retrieve the piece of paper and the screening machine pushed her right hand against the wall of the machine. The employee sustained compartment syndrome in her right forearm." | |
| 2025 | FL | Manufacturing | "On March 28, 2025, an employee was changing a printer blanket and got caught by the printer's rollers resulting in amputation of their left index finger." | |
| 2025 | IL | Manufacturing | "An employee was hanging a print plate on a plate cylinder when his left hand contacted the anilox roll and was pulled into the machine, resulting in the degloving of his left hand." | |
| 2025 | WI | Manufacturing | "An employee was setting up a book-binding machine. She was correcting a problem in the machine when she suffered a partial amputation to the left index fingertip, caused by a belt and gear." | |
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "An employee was cleaning a print impression roller when his shirt sleeve was caught between the meshed gears on the bag machine and his arm was pulled into the gears. He sustained lacerations to his upper forearm and lower bicep." | |
| 2024 | WI | Manufacturing | "An employee was cleaning and re-webbing a printing press. The employee's right index finger was pinched between the shaft of the printing press and the carriage bearing holder as they came together. The fingertip was amputated." | |
| 2024 | FL | Manufacturing | "An employee was working on a printing machine when their hand became caught in the machine. The employee sustained a fractured metacarpal, torn tendons, and a dislocated wrist." | |
| 2024 | TX | Wholesale Trade | "An employee was setting up a machine when their left glove was pulled into a nip point. The employee's finger was pulled in and they sustained a partial amputation." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.