Most Bizarre Workplace Injuries Include Pickle Slip and Fall, Frozen Fish Assault: Report

October 30, 2025

Many workplace injuries remain preventable, and Pie Insurance’s 2025 State of Workplace Safety report highlights the most bizarre injuries reported by the 1,018 U.S. small businesses surveyed earlier this year.

The data showed that 75 percent of small businesses reported workplace injuries within the past year, and nearly half (49 percent) admitted to improvising safety measures due to a lack of proper equipment.

The most common injuries reported were mental health-related injuries (22 percent); slips, trips, and falls (20 percent); cuts, lacerations, and punctures (22 percent); and overexertion and repetitive strain injuries (13 percent).

But the more bizarre injuries from 2025 stand out.

Here are 12 freak workplace accidents that resulted in employee injuries last year:

• An employee refused to stop hitting golf balls, causing another worker to be knocked out after being hit in the head.

• A jackhammer spike punctured an employee’s shoulder after bouncing 20 feet in the air.

• An employee reached into a fryer, forgetting that the oil was over 500°F, resulting in serious burns.

• A bizarre injury occurred when an employee broke his hip while sitting in a chair positioned too low.

• An employee choked on a bone at a Christmas party, resulting in a trip to the emergency room.

• An employee suffered third-degree burns after sitting on a freshly cleaned, hot office chair.

• A worker forgot to turn off the lights, leading to a blown fuse that caused burns to another employee the following day.

• A housekeeping worker accidentally sprayed chemicals in her eyes because the bottle was facing her.

• Someone slipped on a pickle in the lunchroom and cracked their spine.

• An employee was knocked unconscious by a frozen fish propelled by a malfunctioning conveyor belt.

• A worker stapled their hand instead of the document they were working on.

• Flower pots falling from a height injured some employees.

While some businesses dealt with bizarre workplace injuries, others established unusual safety policies to address injury concerns.

These included a tech company that instituted a “no high heels” rule to reduce foot and ankle injuries from long hours of walking on hard floors, a pupil check put in place before employees were allowed to use ladders to ensure they were not under the influence of substances, a “no hitting golf balls” policy to prevent accidental injuries in the workplace (see #1 above), and a restriction on employees, except managers, operating the coffee machines to prevent burns.