How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 268 severe cases involving structural barriers over the last decade. These incidents frequently result in amputations, which account for 42% of all reported injuries from these sources.
The severity of these accidents is reflected in the high frequency of finger injuries. You may suffer permanent loss of function or complex fractures that require extensive medical intervention and long-term rehabilitation.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Injuries involving structural barriers typically occur when these objects fail to operate as intended or lack proper maintenance. You are most often struck by swinging or suspended objects, such as heavy gates that dislodge from their tracks. In other instances, you may suffer falls from elevated retaining walls or become compressed between moving equipment and fixed structures.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Struck by suspended or swinging object | 98 |
| 2 | Struck by falling object | 39 |
| 3 | Other fall to lower level | 36 |
| 4 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 20 |
| 5 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 9 |
| 6 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 9 |
| 7 | Caught or wedged between objects— nonrunning | 8 |
| 8 | Direct exposure to electricity | 6 |
Where injuries happen most
Manufacturing leads with 16% of all reported incidents, followed by construction and administrative services. These industries rely heavily on perimeter security and site access control, where heavy gates and retaining walls are constant features. When these structures are not inspected or maintained to meet safety standards, they become significant hazards for you.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports involve equipment that dislodges from tracks during routine operation or you falling from unprotected edges. Many incidents occur when you attempt to manually adjust or repair a malfunctioning gate, leading to severe pinch-point injuries. 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 | LA | Real Estate | "An employee was closing the store for the night. While closing the gate to the parking area, the gate dislodged from the tracks. The employee proceeded to lift the gate back onto the tracks and caught their right ring finger between the gate and the tracks, resulting in amputation of the fingertip." | |
| 2025 | MO | Administrative Services | "An employee stepped off a stand-up lawn mower and they fell off a 10.5 foot retaining wall and landed on the concrete surface below. The employee lost consciousness and sustained fractures to both wrists, their left knee, left eye, and jaw. The employee was hospitalized and later suffered partial vision loss to their left eye." | |
| 2025 | OH | Health Care | "An employee was walking along a retainer wall. The employee fell from the wall to the ground, suffering a broken L1 vertebra, a broken shoulder blade, and a lacerated spleen." | |
| 2025 | IL | Manufacturing | "An employee was opening a manual gate on the property. The gate reached the end of the track and fell off the rail. The employee then went to lift the panel back onto the track and the tip of their left thumb was pinched between the rail and the roller resulting in amputation of soft tissue from the top of the thumb." | |
| 2025 | FL | Manufacturing | "An employee was closing the gate on a fence at the jobsite when their finger became caught in the track roller on the gate. The employee sustained an amputation." | |
| 2025 | FL | Agriculture | "An employee was removing a pin from a metal gate to let cows out of a parlor. The gate moved and his left middle finger was caught in the pin hole. The employee's finger was partially amputated." | |
| 2025 | WI | Wholesale Trade | "At the business storage yard on 6/25/2025, at 8:00 AM, an employee was helping to manually push a chain link security gate open. The gate came off it's roller track supports and struck the employee's back. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured L3 vertebra and a hematoma to the lower back." | |
| 2025 | FL | Agriculture | "An employee was sorting cows in a pen when a cow struck a gate the employee was standing behind. The gate subsequently struck the employee, causing him to fall backward and hit his head. The employee suffered a closed head injury that required hospitalization." | |
| 2025 | DC | Construction | "An employee jumped over a fence and broke his ankle." | |
| 2025 | GA | Administrative Services | "On May 22, 2025, an employee was pulling weeds when his right hand contacted an electric fence and he was electrocuted." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.