How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 30 severe cases involving mobility devices over the past decade. Fractures are the most common injury type, accounting for 45% of all reported incidents, which often require extensive medical intervention and long-term rehabilitation.
These injuries frequently impact your fingers and the musculoskeletal structures of the pelvic region. The severity of these incidents often stems from the sudden nature of a tip-over or collision, leading to life-altering physical trauma for you.
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Check My BenefitsHow these injuries happen
Injuries involving mobility devices typically occur when equipment is used in environments not designed for them or when maintenance failures lead to instability. Overexertion while materials moving by hand is a leading cause, often occurring when you attempt to navigate uneven surfaces or doorways. Collisions with automatic doors or fixed objects frequently cause these devices to tip, resulting in you being thrown or crushed by the equipment.
| Cause | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Overexertion while materials moving by hand | 6 |
| 2 | Pedestrian struck by vehicle in nonroadway area | 4 |
| 3 | Fall on same level | 4 |
| 4 | Nonroadway collision with object other than vehicle | 3 |
| 5 | Compressed between running equipment and other object(s) | 3 |
| 6 | Struck by rolling, sliding, or shifting objects—non-running | 2 |
| 7 | Other fall to lower level | 2 |
| 8 | Struck by rolling powered vehicle or machinery | 1 |
Where injuries happen most
Health care accounts for 47% of all mobility device injuries, largely due to the high frequency of patient transport and the constant movement of equipment through crowded hallways. Retail trade and public administration also see significant incident rates, as you navigate these devices through areas with floor obstructions or poorly maintained pathways that catch wheels and cause sudden falls.
Real cases like yours
Common patterns in these incidents include equipment catching on floor irregularities, collisions with closing automatic doors, and instability during patient transfers. These reports highlight how quickly a routine task can result in a severe fracture when equipment is not properly maintained or when the environment is not clear of hazards. 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 | MD | Public Administration | "An employee was using a mobility scooter to traverse a hallway. They turned around in the doorway of an automatic door. It started closing and struck the mobility scooter causing it to tip over and land on the employee. The employee sustained a broken femur." | |
| 2025 | TX | Health Care | "An employee, who has been using an orthopedic scooter, was moving in a hallway when a wheel of the scooter hit a cap on the floor, causing the employee to lose balance and fall. The employee sustained a fractured left hip." | |
| 2024 | TX | Health Care | "A bus driver used the lift on the bus to lower a resident in an electrical wheelchair. The wheelchair went forward and a wheel caught on the hook of the lift and caused the wheelchair to tilt. The wheelchair then landed on the driver's legs resulting in fractures to their knee and tibia." | |
| 2024 | CA | Public Administration | "An employee was being wheeled to the pedestrian door of the cargo entrance when their wheelchair got caught on an uneven paved path. The employee fell forward out of the wheelchair and hit the concrete pavement, fracturing their femur." | |
| 2024 | CO | Retail Trade | "An employee was struck by a customer on a mobile scooter in the store, causing them to fall and fracture their right hip. " | |
| 2023 | MA | Health Care | "An employee was pushing a patient in a wheelchair up a ramp when she felt a sudden pain in her middle and lower back, resulting in hospitalization." | |
| 2023 | PA | Retail Trade | "An employee was entering the gas pump booth when his leg was caught between his electric wheelchair and the door jamb, resulting in a leg fracture that required hospitalization and surgery." | |
| 2023 | PA | Health Care | "The employee had clocked out for the day and was leaving the facility. As the employee was going down an exit ramp to the parking lot, their wheelchair struck a bump and the foot plate became jammed. The employee was ejected from the wheelchair onto the concrete/pavement and sustained a hip fracture." | |
| 2022 | PA | Health Care | "An employee was helping load a patient into a van. The patient's powered wheelchair lost power, rolled backward down the ramp, and pinned the employee, who suffered several broken ribs." | |
| 2022 | NJ | Health Care | "An employee's right toe was run over by a wheelchair, resulting in amputation." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.