Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Describe The Worst Workplace Accidents They've Ever Witnessed

ambulance
A first responder ambulance parked outside of Ann Taylor Loft in China Town, Washington DC during the Coronavirus pandemic. Credit: @upgradeur_life www.instagram.com/upgradeur_life
Make us preferred on Google

Not everyone has the luxury of working in a safe environment.

Rather poignantly, most of the essential workers, who continued to report to work as the world shut down during the pandemic, often had to report to very dangerous conditions.

And while we'd like to think that the people who are responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of these employees will make sure nothing happens to them, that simply isn't always the case.

As many people have witnessed, truly horrific accidents take place at work more frequently than we think.


Redditor Andyman_11 was curious to hear about the absolute worst workplace accidents people have witnessed, leading them to ask:
"What's the worst accident that happened at your workplace?"

As If One Time Wasn't Bad Enough

"Not my story, but my dad told me it."

"A man got his arm stuck in a machine, which degloved his arm."

"After he recovered, he was showing the safety people how it happened, and he accidentally degloved his other arm."- nugget_the_third3

Before You Eat Those Fries...

"Working at McDonalds, a girl slipped walking past a deep fryer and her hand went deep into the fryer."

"The manager wrapped her hand in a cloth, when she pulled it off to put in water all of her skin came off."

"We were still made to work so we walked off, they were even happy to keep using the fryer after it!"- Reasonable_Slice5324

Sometimes It's Their Own Fault

"Working for a specialized trucking company, a fellow driver lost control fully loaded going down a winding mountain road."

'The truck tipped over, slid across 2 lanes of oncoming traffic and landed in a field."

"Truck and trailer were absolutely demolished, cab was flattened, and the driver (a huge MFer) crawled out the back window without a scratch."

"$400k unit wasn’t even recognizable."

"Guy was fired when insurance pulled the ECM out of the rig and found he was going over 100kmh around a 50kmh corner and didn’t even touch the brakes."- Barquebe

"Man fell 75 feet due to standing on the wrong side of the pipe he was cutting."

"You ever see those cartoons where they cut the branch while standing on the branch?"

"He was cutting from inside and everyone thinks he just got disoriented."- R3DLOTU5·

Bizarre After Effects

"Guy fell 15’ and landed on his head."

"He lived."

"It fixed his lazy eye and he’s still with the company."

"He became very irritable, has violent outbursts and is a lil psychotic but otherwise perfectly ok."- Oneinsevenbillion75

Choose Your Smoking Breaks Wisely

"Had a corn starch dust explosion at a previous job."

"And no it's not previous because I caused it lol."

"A truly stupid guy decided he'd sneak a cigarette break in basically the worst place he could."

"He came very close to death for his stupidity and could have taken others with him, but thankfully he was the only one seriously injured when the dust went boom."

"That night I was pretty far from the boom area doing vacuum decay testing on completed bags of sugar substitute."

"I was uninjured, but it definitely scared the sh*t out of me."- LaReinaTormenta

They Call It Protective Gear For A Reason

"Teenage girl cut off her finger after refusing to wear the cut proof glove because 'it was ugly'."

"Follow safety protocols folks."- the-cosmic-kraken

So Many People's Worst Nightmares

"When I worked at a grocery store a guy lost his thumb in the meat slicer."

"Worst part is, because of the blade it went flying and they couldn’t find it soon enough to reattach."

'Deli was closed for 24 hours."- Mryan7600

Not Always Causing Physical Harm

"Worked in a grocery store as a teenager."

'My coworker (and still friend) was lowering a huge pallet of 1L apple juice tetra packs and the whole thing tipped from like 20ft up."

"Thousands of liters of apple juice flooded the whole back of the store."

"It was super hot that day and it just smelled like intense hot apple juice."

'We had the worst ant problem forever."

"Thankfully nobody was hurt but what a godawful mess."- permacloud

Wearing Your Hair Up Is As Stylish As It Is Safe

"A girl with long hair leaned down to check something near a fast rotating piece of machinery and got it caught."

"It ripped a good chunk of her scalp out."- EntertainerOk9552

Don't Rely On Workman's Comp

"At Walmart, an assistant manager had a heart attack in the break room."

"When she was taken away and treated she disappeared from work for months, and when she finally came back."

"Walmart management decided to put her outside in the hot California summer heat to be a greeter."

"When she refused they didn’t care and she quit."

"Every single person on my team was saying they probably did it on purpose and wanted her to quit."

"Really f*cked up and it’s probably true."- Filthy_pilgrim

At Least He Was A Good Sport...

"I watched a guy, who pinned his safety guard back on his Skill saw with a nail, lay the still spinning blade right into the meat of his thigh."

"It went right in."

"I almost passed out when he yanked it out. "

"He was in shock and laughing about how the blade was so hot it cauterized the cut, so not much blood."

"He then got into his yellow Bronco with a bad clutch and drove himself to the hospital."- Spodson

Why Updates And Refurbishments Are Necessary

"Hydraulic ferry doors were forced open to let cars out, pins snapped and doors slammed shut on an employee."

"They survived but it wasn’t pretty."- PlantBagWood

Texting While Moving Is Dangerous

"A crew was walking a plane out to the flight line and a guy got his bottom half squished underneath the wheels."

"Texting and not paying attention was suspected to be the cause but that’s not confirmed."- niciswan

"Safety First" should not simply be a warning or guideline for employees to follow.

But rather a basic standard for any workplace putting their employees in dangerous situations to uphold.


More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Brandon Herrera
@patriottakes/X

MAGA Candidate Sparks Outrage Over His Crass Nickname For Children In Bonkers Attack On Moms

A clip from Texas MAGA Republican candidate Brandon Herrera's YouTube channel has gone viral across social media. Herrera, widely known online as "The AK Guy," is a firearm manufacturer, gun rights advocate, and right-wing social media personality.

Since 2008, Herrera—who is unmarried and has no children—has also been a member of the neo-Confederate organization Sons of Confederate Veterans that promotes the Lost Cause false narrative that argues the goals of the Confederate States during the American Civil War were morally just and heroic and completely unrelated to slavery.

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshot of Linda McMahon
Fox Business

Linda McMahon Slammed After Claiming Some Kids Should Be Put On 'Pathway' To Become Plumbers

Education Secretary Linda McMahon was criticized after claiming during an interview on Fox Business that some elementary school students should be put on a "pathway" to become plumbers or electricians.

Separating students into different educational paths based on their perceived academic ability or future careers—a practice known as tracking—has long been controversial.

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshot of Zohran Mamdani; Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump
Rolling Stone; Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Zohran Mamdani Has Hilariously Blunt Reaction To Trump Constantly Calling Him Handsome

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani had a relatable and funny reaction when asked by Rolling Stone about President Donald Trump constantly remarking on his good looks.

Trump had a surprisingly cheery meeting at the White House with Mamdani last year, at one point even giving Mamdani a pat on the arm and smiling when Mamdani referred to him as a "fascist."

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshot of Jesse Watters
Fox News

Jesse Watters Ripped After Going On Overtly Sexist Rant About 'Bitter' Women With PhDs

Fox News host Jesse Watters was criticized following a sexist diatribe on The Five about how college-educated women end up "bitter" and single because "men don’t care if you have a PhD."

Watters addressed his message to "college-educated, downwardly mobile women," saying that it's "mostly women" who waste time by getting "advanced degrees" in the humanities or social sciences instead of prioritizing relationships and love.

Keep Reading Show less
Conan O'Brien attends SiriusXM's Front Row with the cast of "Toy Story 5" at SiriusXM Studios.
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Conan O'Brien Just Randomly Switched Up His Signature Hairdo—And Fans Are Coming In Hot With The Jokes

Comedian Conan O'Brien is known for many things: his height, his humor, and his headline-making hair. So when the late-night legend debuted a slicked-back hairstyle during a recent podcast taping, fans wanted answers.

The host of Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend unveiled the greased-up look during his interview with Molly Shannon on Monday, leaving viewers stunned.

Keep Reading Show less