Some of the most gruesome injuries resulting from workplace accidents happen to employees whose job entails working with heavy machinery. Other work-related injuries that involve machinery can be quite inconspicuous, while still being quietly responsible for intense pain and invisible physical harm. Many threats exist for manual workers whose work involves heavy equipment, but many smaller machines can also present danger. From losing a limb to suffering from repetitive strain, workers who use machines every day to perform their work duties are at risk of seriously debilitating injuries that include everything from carpal tunnel syndrome to a machinery malfunction that causes total incapacitation or even death.
What are Common Ways Injuries Occur with Job-Related Machinery?
The most obvious types of machine-related work injuries are those that involve power tools and heavy-duty machinery used in construction or industrial factory work. A slip of the hand while working with these powerful machines can cause a tragic accident. Yet, there are many other ways workplace machines can create dangerous situations for workers. Below are some of the ways workplace machinery can cause injury to a worker:
- Being struck by or against heavy equipment
- Being trapped or crushed by heavy machinery
- Being run over by drivable construction-type heavy machines
- Repetitive strain injuries from performing constant unvaried work motions
- Overexertion, such as lifting or pushing heavy loads
- Slipping, tripping, or falling from industrial machinery
What Types of Injuries Result from Accidents with Workplace Machines?
Machine accidents can cause serious harm to the body in many ways. Some are described below:
Serious cuts. Machines with sharp or fast-moving parts can cause lacerations or puncture wounds. Sometimes serious open wounds can put a worker at risk of internal injuries, but even when they are only skin deep, cuts from machinery can be quite serious. An avulsion injury may even remove an area of skin entirely and may take with it underlying flesh and bone as well. A table saw or chain saw has obvious potential to cause a serious wound. Even injuries that can be treated with stitches run the risk of becoming infected and causing further injury. Proper medical treatment is necessary for all serious cuts, as blood loss and infection are serious risks of cuts caused by workplace machines.
Crushing injuries. Machines have parts that can cause injury if a person gets a finger, hand, or arm stuck inside. A worker reaching into a machine may be unable to pull their arm back out in time to avoid injury. A slip or awkward position may cause a worker to become lodged in or under a machine. This is possible if a worker is pinned up against a structure or run over by a construction vehicle.
Amputations. An accident with a saw could cause a worker to lose a finger. Getting too close to a dangerous machine may cause someone to lose a limb. The bigger the machine, the more severe the potential for injury.
Broken or fractured bones. Machines that compress or entrap a body part can cause damage to bones. Trauma to bones can take many weeks or months to fully recover. Some bone injuries may cause damage to nearby nerves and blood vessels.
Electrical injuries. Most types of industrial machinery run on electricity. This makes workers susceptible to electrical injuries such as electrical burns, which can cause damage to internal tissues and nerves.
Nerve damage. Damage to nerves can result from any of these injuries as well. The pain of serious nerve damage can be debilitating.
How Does Workers’ Compensation Help an Employee Injured by a Machine at Work?
Workers’ compensation helps the injured employee by paying for any medical bills for expenses such as doctor visits, diagnostic tests, treatments, medications, and physical therapy related to the workplace injury. This program is meant to protect the employee by offering these benefits regardless of any responsibility they may bear with regard to the accident, but that benefit works both ways. Workers’ compensation also protects the employer from a costly lawsuit for any liability that might be pinned on the company, its management, or its team members.
When an employee collects benefits from the workers’ compensation program, they are also agreeing to hold the employer harmless for the accident. This means that they release all rights to sue the company for its culpability in allowing dangerous conditions to exist in the workplace or failing to provide protective equipment, or properly training their employees, among other possible negligent conduct.
For these reasons, an injured employee should enter into an agreement to accept workers’ compensation benefits only after fully considering the implications of doing so. Talking with a lawyer experienced in workers’ compensation cases can help to enlighten the hurt worker about how the program works and if the financial consequences of their accident are likely to be adequately addressed by the program, as workers’ compensation often comes with policy limits that may not completely cover all the expenses that stem from the work accident.
Workers who are distracted by their injury may not be in a position to fully explore other possibilities while they are dealing with so much already. Therefore, it is imperative that an employee faced with making such a consequential decision take the time to speak with someone has a broad knowledge of the workers’ compensation system. A knowledgeable workplace injury lawyer can provide indispensable advice that can provide useful information and a beneficial perspective in the aftermath of a life-changing accident.
Can Liability be Found with Someone Other than the Employer?
Although accepting workers’ compensation benefits may limit the ability of an injured worker to seek legal redress from their employer, it does not place such limits on other parties that may be found liable for the accident that caused the employee’s injuries. For example, if the employee was injured by a machine with a defective part, the manufacturer of the machine may be held liable.
If the employee sues a third party, such as the manufacturer of a faulty machine or an outside vendor that serviced the machine, the workers’ compensation benefits they received as part of the arrangement with their employer will not factor into the lawsuit at all.
A conversation with a workplace injury lawyer will include an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the accident. This line of questioning might lead to a list of possible third-party claims to explore.
What Happens if an Employee Accepts a Workers’ Compensation Agreement that Will Not Completely Cover the Injury?
If it comes to light that the injury suffered as a result of a work accident is more costly than was understood at the time that the workers’ compensation agreement was entered, the employee may be able to sue the company for a larger amount. This will not be easy, but it is possible.
However, any payments accepted as part of the agreement with the employer under the workers’ compensation terms are likely to have to be repaid from the proceeds of any award or settlement that results from a successful work injury lawsuit against the employer.
Camden County Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Pietras Saracino Smith & Meeks, LLP, Represent Injured Workers
Being hurt at work can be devastating to your life and livelihood. Workers’ compensation should be there to help. However, when you are denied coverage or the offer does not begin to cover the financial implications of your injury, you should talk to the Camden County workers’ compensation lawyers at Pietras Saracino Smith & Meeks, LLP. We can assist you with the workers’ compensation claims process, including any appeals or negotiations. Call us today at 856-761-3773 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation. Located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, we serve clients in Camden, Cinnaminson, Delran, Maple Shade, Pennsauken, and throughout South Jersey.
