How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 51 severe incidents involving tillage, planting, and cultivating machinery over the last decade. Amputations account for 47% of these cases, representing the most frequent and life-altering injury type associated with this equipment.
These injuries are often catastrophic due to the high torque and sharp components of the machinery. Fingers are the most commonly affected body part, appearing in 45% of all reported cases, which frequently leads to permanent disability and long-term recovery needs.
How these injuries happen
You are most likely to be injured when you become caught or entangled in running equipment during normal operation, which accounts for 30% of all reported incidents. Other common scenarios involve being struck by equipment that shifts unexpectedly or becoming compressed between machinery and stationary objects. Many of these accidents happen when machines reenergize during maintenance or when equipment slips while you maneuver it on uneven terrain.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caught, entangled in running powered equipment— normal operation | 15 |
| 2 | Nonroadway noncollision incident | 9 |
| 3 | Other fall to lower level | 8 |
| 4 | Struck by falling object | 4 |
| 5 | Struck by running powered equipment— unspecified | 3 |
| 6 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 3 |
| 7 | Struck by running powered equipment— during maintenance, cleaning, testing | 2 |
| 8 | Caught or wedged between objects— nonrunning | 1 |
Where injuries happen most
Agriculture leads all sectors with 31% of reported incidents, as the daily use of heavy planting and tilling equipment creates constant exposure to entanglement risks. Administrative services follow with 20% of cases, often involving you operating walk-behind aerators or similar landscaping tools that lack adequate safety guarding or operator training.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these reports include equipment reenergizing while you clear a jam, or machinery slipping and pinning you against a structure. These incidents often highlight failures in lockout-tagout procedures or inadequate machine guarding. 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 | NY | Retail Trade | "An employee was on the back of a box truck, working to maneuver a roto tiller away from the metal tool rack that hangs on the walls of the truck. His left ringer fingertip became pinned/stuck between the metal handle of the roto tiller and the metal tool rack, resulting in amputation of the fingertip." | |
| 2025 | OH | Other Services | "On March 3, 2025, an employee was preparing air seeder equipment to be washed in the bay and disconnected the pin from the hitch in the connected tractor. The tractor then pulled away. While replacing the pin, the hitch fell two feet onto the employee's left foot and the securing safety chain and bolt pierced his boot behind the steel toe. The employee sustained amputation injuries to the second toe." | |
| 2024 | PA | Administrative Services | "An employee was operating/pushing a self-propelled, walk-behind aerator up a hill when the aerator started to slip and drift toward a deck post. The employee was was caught between the aerator and the deck post and sustained a puncture to the right leg below the knee." | |
| 2024 | OH | Administrative Services | "An employee was operating an aerator when the blades amputated their right middle finger between the first and second knuckles." | |
| 2024 | FL | Agriculture | "An employee was planting sod when the machine he was using became stuck. The employee attempted to push the stop button and move the chain that rotates the grinder/sod cutter. The machine then jumped and reenergized. The employee suffered partial amputations to one or two fingers on their left hand, and was hospitalized." | |
| 2024 | AL | Manufacturing | "An employee had just loaded a tractor onto a truck. The employee unhooked the tractor and began adjusting the placement of the middle buster. The middle buster fell onto the employee's left ring finger, crushing and fracturing it." | |
| 2024 | FL | Arts & Entertainment | "An employee was clearing the stuck pulley of the aerator. As the pulley became unstuck, the employee's right ring finger was caught in either the pulley or the blades of the aerator, amputating the fingertip. The machine was not locked or tagged out at the time." | |
| 2023 | OH | Manufacturing | "On November 8, 2023, an employee was making depth adjustments on a strip tiller. The shank slipped and fell, and the employee suffered a fingertip amputation." | |
| 2023 | IL | Other Services | "An employee was installing a belt on a fertilizer spreading machine when their lower left tibia was fractured by a moving chain and sprocket." | |
| 2023 | NE | Construction | "An employee was using an auger to spread lime to treat soil. The employee started warm-up operations for the equipment and went to lubricate the grease point located at the rear of the cart. The employee's glove became entangled in the moving chain, causing his right middle finger to become pinched between the chain and the sprocket. The employee sustained a partial traumatic transphalangeal amputation of the right middle finger." |
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 you report the incident to your employer and OSHA if it meets federal reporting criteria. Document the condition of the machine and any safety guards that may have been missing or bypassed at the time of the accident. An attorney can help you gather this evidence to support your Workers' Compensation claim.
Employers are required under OSHA standards to ensure all dangerous moving parts are properly guarded to prevent entanglement. If a machine was missing a guard or had a defective safety mechanism, your employer may be held accountable for failing to provide a safe work environment. An attorney can help you evaluate whether these safety failures entitle you to additional compensation.
Workers' Compensation is designed to cover medical expenses and lost wages for injuries you sustain on the job, regardless of who was at fault for the equipment failure. You are generally entitled to these benefits if you were injured while performing your work duties. An attorney can help you ensure your claim is filed correctly and that you receive the full benefits you are owed.
OSHA mandates specific maintenance and training requirements for powered equipment to prevent accidental startup or entanglement. If you were not trained on the specific machine or if it was not maintained according to manufacturer specifications, your employer may have violated safety protocols. An attorney can help you investigate the maintenance records and safety history of the equipment involved in your case.