How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 2,607 severe cases of environmental heat exposure over the last decade. The vast majority of these incidents result in effects of heat and light, which can lead to rapid physical decline and emergency hospitalization.
When you experience heat exhaustion or heat stroke, the damage often requires extensive recovery time and medical monitoring. An attorney can help you secure the benefits you need to cover your recovery.
Suffered heat exhaustion? Check what benefits you may be owed.
Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Exposure to environmental heat accounts for 99% of these injuries. You face these risks when performing strenuous tasks in high-temperature environments without adequate cooling, shade, or hydration breaks.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exposure to environmental heat | 2,570 |
| 2 | Exposure to environmental cold | 36 |
| 3 | Forest fire or wildfire | 1 |
Where injuries happen most
Construction accounts for 23% of all severe heat-related incidents, as you frequently work in direct sunlight with limited climate control. Transportation and warehousing follow at 21%, where you may face prolonged exposure to rising temperatures in non-climate-controlled vehicles or loading docks.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns involve you performing physical labor in attics, outdoors, or inside delivery vehicles and suddenly experiencing cramping, light-headedness, or physical collapse. If this sounds like your experience, an attorney can help you review the specifics of your incident to determine if your employer failed to provide a safe environment.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | MA | Construction | "An employee had been working in a customer's attic and was later hospitalized due to dehydration." | |
| 2025 | MA | Construction | "An employee was working in an attic and sustained heat exhaustion and dehydration." | |
| 2025 | FL | Construction | "An employee was installing a generator on a construction site when they began cramping and could not move. The employee sustained heat stress." | |
| 2025 | NJ | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was delivering mail when they sustained heat exhaustion." | |
| 2025 | FL | Other Services | "An employee completed an auto glass replacement job outside and experienced light-headedness and weakness in their body. The employee sustained heat exhaustion." | |
| 2025 | FL | Administrative Services | "An employee was walking down a sidewalk operating a stick edger and completing maintenance near the clubhouse. The employee lost consciousness due to heat exhaustion and struck his head and chest. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | PA | Transportation & Warehousing | "A driver returned from their route and started experiencing heat stress symptoms. The employee sustained heat exhaustion." | |
| 2025 | PA | Transportation & Warehousing | "A delivery driver was returning to his vehicle when he started having leg cramps. The employee was hospitalized for dehydration." | |
| 2025 | OK | Transportation & Warehousing | "An employee was making deliveries when he started to feel ill. He returned to the office but started feeling worse. The employee was hospitalized with heat stroke and a kidney injury." | |
| 2025 | MS | Construction | "An employee was hanging steel in hot weather. The employee felt sick and was hospitalized with dehydration." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.