Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at U.S. Postal Service, 207 Emerald Avenue, KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE 37917
on — Fractures, affecting the hand(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was delivering mail to a residence. The mailbox was mounted to the outside of a fence near a gate. A pit-bull/boxer mix that was inside of the fence jumped on the gate, causing it to open. When the dog attacked the employee, she put up her right hand and the dog bit it, resulting in broken bones. She was hospitalized.
An employee was walking back to a carrier case with mail in her hand when she tripped over a tub. Her back overarched as she fell, resulting in a fractured back that required hospitalization.
An employee delivered a package. On her way back to her vehicle she was attacked by two dogs that came from around a corner. She was hospitalized with dog bites.
On September 29, 2025, a rural mail carrier was delivering parcels to a business when she tripped on a parking stop block in front of the business. She fell to the ground and sustained fractures to her left hip and pelvis. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was working to remove a stuck strap from a tray line while on an A-frame ladder. They fell 6 to 8 feet to the concrete floor, resulting in a head contusion and fractured ribs that required hospitalization.
An employee was opening a kennel door to take a dog on a walk when the dog bit his hand/finger. The employee suffered a partial finger amputation that required surgery.
On December 19, 2023, an employee entered a cat kennel to remove a litter box and food and water dishes. The employee was bitten by a cat on her left hand. She noticed swelling the next day, resulting in hospitalization.
An employee was helping a patient who was carrying a cat up the stairs. The cat bit the employee on their right forearm, resulting in an infection that required hospitalization.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 491110)
An employee was working to deliver mail to an apartment building. She was waiting for a customer to move, to obtain clearance to the mailboxes. The door swung inward and closed on her right little finger. The top half of her finger was surgically amputated.
An employee was waiting for an operator to bring mail over to a mail sorting machine when she became pinned between the machine and a stack of pallets being pushed by a powered industrial truck (PIT). The employee suffered bruising and swelling on her hips, lower back, knees, and left side; a puncture wound to her left thigh from a machine screw; a crushed right hand with numbness and tingling; numbness to the left big toe; and a right wrist sprain.
An employee was walking back to a carrier case with mail in her hand when she tripped over a tub. Her back overarched as she fell, resulting in a fractured back that required hospitalization.
An employee delivered a package. On her way back to her vehicle she was attacked by two dogs that came from around a corner. She was hospitalized with dog bites.
An employee was working to remove a stuck strap from a tray line while on an A-frame ladder. They fell 6 to 8 feet to the concrete floor, resulting in a head contusion and fractured ribs that required hospitalization.
An employee sat on an unleveled bench outside the cafeteria and fell to the concrete. The employee was hospitalized with a head contusion with bleeding and injuries to the right side of her body, her right hip, and right hand, as well as a scrape to her elbow.
An employee was cutting brush and shrubs. A bee stung the employee on the base of their neck. The employee sustained an allergic reaction and was hospitalized.
An employee was walking to his car when he tripped over a board that was secured to the floor of the dock area. His left knee struck the cement dock. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery to repair a broken knee.