2025 Greenhouse Injury Trends: Top Risks and How to Prevent Them
August 2, 2025 The most common injury claims across greenhouse operations often involve familiar hazards that originate from wet floors and equipment handling and can often be avoided.
Each incident can trigger costly workers’ compensation claims, general liability exposure, and operational disruptions in an already labor-tight industry.
As a greenhouse owner, when you invest in a safety culture that prevents accidents and injuries among employees and customers, you protect your bottom line, prevent lost-time injuries, and help ensure customers return to your business time and again.
There are three key areas where business leaders experience concentrated risk:
- Trips and falls
- Machinery-related injuries
- Vehicle accidents
The good news is that these risks can be reduced with preventive strategies that support and enhance a strong safety culture.
1. Slips, Trips, and Falls
Greenhouse floors often are wet and over time contribute to concrete cracks, uneven surfaces, and algae growth, all of which in turn contribute to many slips, trips, and falls by employees and customers.
In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were more than 450,000 work-related slips, trips, and falls in 2021-2022, involving days off of work. Each year, workers’ compensation and medical costs for falls run about $70 billion, according to the National Safety Council.
With such high frequency and costs of falls, retail garden centers and wholesale growers with customer foot traffic are especially vulnerable. Even if customers aren’t present daily, or you’re a grower who serves retail indirectly, liability exposure still exists.
For example, retail partners often include in supplier contracts “hold harmless” or indemnification clauses that may require you to accept responsibility for any injuries that involve your products or displays, even if the incident happens off-site and your employees weren’t present.
Preventive Strategies
- Establish daily or shift-based safety walkthroughs to proactively address uneven surfaces, water pooling, and algae growth. Use a checklist to help employees understand what to look for.
- Ensure racks, shelving, and displays are securely assembled, especially if they’ll be handled or restocked by a third party.
- Clarify liability terms in retail contracts, especially those requiring indemnification or hold harmless language.
- Encourage “fresh eyes” inspections where different team members take turns reviewing the space. One person might notice a hazard others have overlooked.
- Report and record near misses — not just actual injuries. If someone nearly trips, that’s a signal that something needs to change to prevent further mishaps.
2. Machinery Accidents
Horticulture businesses often customize or modify equipment to meet the demands of complex and specialized greenhouse and nursery operations. But this comes with legal and physical risk. In one serious claim, an employee’s sleeve got caught in a machine shaft, leading to the loss of their arm. Investigation revealed the equipment had been modified, making the employer liable under gross negligence, a rare but serious workers’ compensation exception.
Preventive Strategies
- Prohibit removal and alteration of safety guards. These safety features are meant to prevent injuries, not slow work processes.
- Forbid employee modifications or adaptations to machinery. If a piece of modified or homemade equipment causes an injury, the employer could be considered the “manufacturer” in the eyes of the law, introducing new liability.
- Conduct internal equipment safety inspections regularly, with participation from managers and supervisors who may spot different hazards.
- Start a rotating safety committee to build accountability across departments and keep inspections fresh and consistent.
3. Vehicle Accidents
Greenhouse staff often deliver goods and move supplies using company trucks. These tasks are risky — especially when employees aren’t formally trained. According to Sentry’s 2025 Sentry C-Suite Index, less than half of vehicle drivers alone — only 41% — are required to attend mandatory safety training before using a company vehicle.
Claims related to vehicles can be varied and severe. These include things such as a collision with a customer vehicle while moving or loading materials, or a workers’ compensation claim from a slip when stepping down from a box truck.
When your employees are involved in an accident with another driver, workers’ compensation claims, third-party lawsuits, and liability payouts are significant expenses, and may be reduced by taking proper driving safety measures.
Preventive Strategies
- Conduct annual motor vehicle record checks to monitor your drivers and ensure that they’re capable of responsibly transporting your goods and supplies.
- Implement mandatory driver safety training for all your employees who operate company vehicles.
- Create and implement an electronics policy to prevent distracted driving. Require employees who operate vehicles to annually review and sign a company policy banning the use of electronics — including the use of cell phones — while driving or operating machinery.
- Use telematics as a proactive safety tool. Dashcams aren’t just for reviewing accidents. They can be a valuable part of a forward-looking safety strategy. Companies that regularly review footage and incorporate findings into coaching sessions can see measurable improvements in the behavior of drivers.
The Number One Preventive Strategy is a Culture of Safety
When it comes to reducing injuries, no single tool, policy, or protocol matters more than building a strong culture of safety. The most effective operations prevent injuries by embedding safety into daily routines, leadership priorities, and team mindset.
When owners and managers model safe behavior and make it a consistent focus, it sets the tone for the rest of the team. Consider:
- Regular employee safety meetings, in addition to daily huddles and near-miss reporting, send a clear message about safety expectations and can be a time to reinforce safety policies.
- Rotating safety inspections and cross-functional safety committees to foster shared accountability.
- Role-specific training — especially for drivers and equipment operators.
Taking time to properly train employees, build and reinforce a safety culture, and implement pragmatic greenhouse safety practices helps prevent costly accidents, injuries, and their related costs — protecting your employees and your business’s bottom line.
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