How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 224 severe cases involving road grading and surfacing machinery over the last decade. Fractures are the most common injury type, occurring in 35% of all reported incidents and often requiring extensive surgical intervention and long-term rehabilitation.
These injuries are frequently life-altering, with amputations occurring in 26% of cases. Fingers are the most common body part affected, reflecting the extreme danger of working near moving parts and heavy mechanical components.
How these injuries happen
Injuries involving road grading machinery most often occur when you are caught or entangled in running equipment during normal operation. This accounts for 19% of all incidents, as you are frequently struck by moving tires, caught in hydraulic systems, or crushed when equipment tips over on uneven terrain.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 42 |
| 2 | Nonroadway noncollision incident | 34 |
| 3 | Other fall to lower level | 21 |
| 4 | Pedestrian struck by vehicle in road work zone | 13 |
| 5 | Struck by rolling powered vehicle or machinery | 13 |
| 6 | Pedestrian incidents involving motorized land vehicles— unspecified | 13 |
| 7 | Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area | 11 |
| 8 | Roadway noncollision incident | 10 |
Where injuries happen most
Construction accounts for 84% of all severe injuries involving road grading equipment. The nature of road work, which requires you to operate in close proximity to heavy machinery on sloped or unstable ground, creates constant exposure to crushing and striking hazards.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents include equipment rollovers on sloped embankments, hydraulic line failures, and you being struck while performing manual tasks like raking or clearing debris near active machinery. 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 injury.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | MS | Construction | "An employee was operating the scraper when a hydraulic line ruptured and created a flame. The employee jumped off the equipment and broke a leg." | |
| 2025 | FL | Construction | "An employee was operating a roller parallel to a sloped lake bank. The roller overturned and the operator jumped off the roller as it overturned. The roller then struck/crushed the employee. The employee sustained internal injuries and chest trauma. The employee was hospitalized. " | |
| 2025 | FL | Construction | "An employee was raking and shoveling dirt next to a motor grader when it reversed and the wheel turned, causing the tire to strike the employee. The employee was knocked down and the grader ran over his leg and foot, fracturing them." | |
| 2025 | NE | Construction | "An employee was operating a sheepsfoot roller. While backing up the equipment, the left rear wheel sank into unpacked soil along the sloped edge of the work area and the equipment tipped over onto its side. The employee's left leg was caught under the cab, resulting in a broken femur. " | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "An employee was crouched down to remove dirt/debris from around a grader so that it could mark the appropriate grade level. The grader turned left and the right tire struck the employee. The employee was hospitalized with a fracture to the right side of their pelvis and required surgery." | |
| 2025 | PA | Construction | "An employee was making adjustments to a work bridge used to finish concrete deck pours. The tracks at the southern end needed to be extended. When the employee went to loosen the bolts that hold the sliding portion of the bridge to the stationary section, the sliding portion collapsed and his left middle finger was caught, resulting in a partial amputation of the finger." | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "Employees were laying asphalt paving on a highway. The injured employee was walking beside the paver machine with his hand on top of the road widener extension. The extension was lowered and his finger was pinched between the machine and a steel guardrail along the side of the highway. As a result, the injured employee sustained an amputation of his right middle fingertip." | |
| 2025 | MO | Construction | "An employee was standing on the back of a paving machine and preparing to pave. A roller was driving toward the paving machine and pinned the employee against the back of the paver, crushing his right leg. His stomach was impaled by the screw bar handle of the paving machine. The employee sustained a laceration to the abdomen and an amputation to the left leg." | |
| 2025 | AL | Construction | "An employee was guiding a riding trowel into a truck bed as it was being moved by a crane when his fingers became caught between the truck bed and the trowel. The employee sustained a partial amputation of his left index finger." | |
| 2025 | AR | Construction | "An employee was loading a mill machine onto a flatbed trailer. The machine went into crab-walk mode and walked sideways off the trailer. The employee jumped from the operator's platform of the machine to the deck of the trailer. He suffered a broken right arm, five broken ribs, a bruised lung, and lacerations to the kidney and spleen." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.
Frequently asked questions
Seek immediate medical attention and ensure your employer files an official incident report. Document the scene if possible, including the specific equipment involved and any safety failures you observed. An attorney can help you navigate the Workers' Compensation process to ensure your medical bills and lost wages are covered.
Employers are required to provide proper training, maintain equipment in safe working order, and ensure that work zones are clearly marked to protect you. If your injury resulted from a failure to maintain hydraulic systems or a lack of proper safety guards, your employer may be held liable. An attorney can help you evaluate whether safety standards were violated in your case.
Workers' Compensation is designed to cover medical expenses and a portion of lost wages for work-related injuries, including fractures caused by heavy machinery. Because these injuries often require surgery and long recovery times, it is important to ensure your claim accurately reflects the full extent of your impairment. An attorney can help you secure the benefits you are entitled to receive.
OSHA mandates strict safety requirements for the operation of heavy machinery, including requirements for rollover protective structures and proper guarding of moving parts. When these standards are ignored, the risk of severe injury increases significantly. An attorney can help you determine if your employer failed to meet these federal safety obligations.