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

Kevin McHale Furiously Hits Back At Fan Speculation That 'Glee' Was Cursed Due To Cast Deaths: 'Get F—ked'
Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images; John Medina/WireImage

Kevin McHale Furiously Hits Back At Fan Speculation That 'Glee' Was Cursed Due To Cast Deaths: 'Get F—ked'

It's often said that the beloved 2010s Fox show Glee is cursed because so many of its stars have died or been involved in harrowing scandals since the show aired.

And star Kevin McHale is not having it.

Keep Reading Show less
screenshot from Fox News "The Five"
Fox News

Fox News Host Ripped After Claiming 'Reacher' Star Alan Ritchson's Hatred For Trump Is 'Eating Him Alive'

Actor Alan Ritchson, the 6'3" tower of muscle that stars in the series Reacher, angered MAGA minions after criticizing their idol, Republican President Donald Trump, his administration, and his enablers on a pair of podcasts.

Explaining his political views during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Ritchson said:

Keep Reading Show less
Pete Hegseth
Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images

Defense Department Roasted After Posting And Then Deleting Tweet About 'Winning' Trump's Iran War That's A Self-Own For The Ages

The Defense Department is facing criticism after the official X account for the Under Secretary of War posted a tweet about the U.S. military "winning" the Iran war with a caption that undermined the sentiment before later deleting it.

The post included a graphic showing soldiers mid-operation with the words "WINNING" prominently displayed along with a caption that said:

Keep Reading Show less
Donald Trump; one of the two The Arts of Peace statues stands near Lincoln Memorial
Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images

Trump Just Renovated Several Historic DC Sculptures—And People Are Furious Over Their Gaudy New Look And Price Tag

President Donald Trump has angered critics following his renovation of several historic sculptures in Washington, D.C., that fit his taste for gold decor.

The Arts of War and The Arts of Peace are two bronze, fire-gilded sculpture groups that flank Lincoln Memorial Circle in West Potomac Park. Originally commissioned in 1929 to accompany the eastern plaza of the Lincoln Memorial and the approaches to the Arlington Memorial Bridge, budget constraints delayed the project for decades.

Keep Reading Show less
Hannah Berner attends "The Devil Wears Prada 2" New York premiere.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Comedian Hannah Berner's Botox Treatment For TMJ Disorder Has Fans Cackling After It Caused A Hilariously Awkward Side-Effect

Hannah Berner's latest comedy bit wasn't exactly planned. After getting injections to help with her TMJ, the comedian found herself temporarily unable to smile, a side effect she quickly transformed into viral entertainment.

For those who don't know, Berner is one half of the hit comedy podcast Giggly Squad, which she co-hosts with longtime friend Paige DeSorbo. The pair spend each episode making fun of everything from pop culture and everyday life to themselves, so it's no surprise Berner found a way to turn an awkward mishap into a joke.

Keep Reading Show less