How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 452 severe cases involving skids and pallets over the last decade. These incidents frequently result in fractures, which account for 45% of all reported injuries, often requiring extensive surgery and long-term rehabilitation.
The severity of these accidents is underscored by the high rate of amputations, which make up 24% of cases. Injuries most commonly impact the fingers, often occurring when you are caught between shifting loads or handling unstable pallet stacks.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Most injuries occur when pallets collapse or loads shift unexpectedly, leading to you being struck by falling objects. In many cases, these accidents stem from improper stacking, overloaded racks, or the use of damaged pallets that fail under weight. You are also frequently injured when you trip over discarded shrink wrap or loose pallet debris, causing falls on the same or lower levels.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Struck by falling object | 203 |
| 2 | Other fall to lower level | 74 |
| 3 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 58 |
| 4 | Overexertion while materials moving by hand | 13 |
| 5 | Struck by rolling, sliding, or shifting objects—non-running | 13 |
| 6 | Fall on same level | 13 |
| 7 | Struck against stationary object | 11 |
| 8 | Injured by object handled by person | 10 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing accounts for 32% of all reported pallet-related injuries, as high-volume production environments rely heavily on constant material movement. Transportation and warehousing follow closely, where the rapid pace of loading and unloading creates frequent opportunities for pallet instability and rack failures that put you at risk.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents include you being struck by collapsing rack uprights, losing balance while navigating unstable stacks, or suffering crush injuries during manual material handling. If your injury involved a similar failure of equipment or a lack of proper safety protocols, an attorney can help you review the specific circumstances of your case to determine your legal options.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | GA | Manufacturing | "An employee was using straps to secure a load inside a transport trailer. The employee was standing on a stack of finished goods that was three pallets high. Each pallet was 16 inches high. He was walking from the stack of three pallets onto a stack of two pallets when he lost his balance and fell onto another stack of finished goods (that was two pallets high) and then landed on the floor of the trailer. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs." | |
| 2025 | LA | Retail Trade | "An employee was moving a pallet of protein drink. When she unhitched the straps, the uprights of the pallet rack fell. The pallet of protein drinks fractured her right arm. She was hospitalized and required surgery." | |
| 2025 | OK | Retail Trade | "An employee was loading up a stock cart. The employee stepped onto a resting pallet and grabbed a case of water to move onto the stock cart. As they stepped off the pallet, their heel got stuck on a piece of plastic shrink wrap, causing them to trip and fall onto the concrete floor. The employee landed on their hip and required hip surgery." | |
| 2025 | TX | Retail Trade | "An employee had just retrieved a roll of packing dunnage. The employee tripped while stepping off a pallet, fell to the concrete floor, and suffered a broken right hip." | |
| 2025 | TX | Manufacturing | "Two employees were removing a wooden pallet from a stack of pallets. One employee's left little finger was pinched between two pallets, causing a fingertip amputation without bone loss." | |
| 2025 | TX | Retail Trade | "An employee was moving a pallet of feed from the floor level of the racking when a beam on the second tier broke causing a pallet of product to fall onto the employee. The employee sustained a fractured femur that required surgery." | |
| 2025 | PA | Retail Trade | "An employee was moving pallets when a pallet fell onto his ring finger causing a fingertip amputation. " | |
| 2025 | AL | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was stacking cases of product, each weighing approximately 10 - 20 pounds, onto a pallet inside a railcar. A pallet that was stored on an upper level dislodged and fell, striking the employee from behind. The employee sustained a dislocated left hip." | |
| 2025 | AL | Professional Services | "Employees were moving a pallet filled with heavy items onto an aircraft. Because of the weight of the assets on the pallet train, employees hooked up a strap in front of the pallet to get the pallet rolling while the other team members were pushing from behind. An employee's foot was crushed under the pallet. The employee sustained fractures to their toes and the bottom of his foot was lacerated. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | NY | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was offloading an airplane flight. After driving a transporter car to place a pallet on a static rack, he got off the transporter to apply the lock and secure the pallet on the rack. The pallet began to roll off the rack and pinned the employee against the transporter. He suffered a broken right leg." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.