Machinery Accidents
Machinery Accident Attorney in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia
In need of a machinery accident lawyer in Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia? Machinery accidents can happen to anyone working with heavy machinery although they are more common in factories, with farm equipment, or with construction equipment. Machinery accidents are more common when working with heavy machinery because after a prolonged period of use, machinery users may get too relaxed around equipment and sometimes do not have their usual amount of awareness. Lack of awareness for even a second can cause traumatic injuries such as fingers getting squished in machinery or hair getting pulled into the machinery. That is exactly why there should be safety precautions in place.
According to the National Vital Statistics Report released by the CDC in 2001, approximately 288,450 people are injured on heavy machinery annually, and about 540 are fatally injured. Machinery accidents are most definitely not always the fault of the person who is injured, even if he or she was operating the machinery when the injury occurred. Some machinery accidents can be the fault of others involved such as contractors, equipment manufacturers, subcontractors, property owners, or even supervisors or coworkers. If you were injured while working on a construction site, even if the benefits that worker’s compensation may grant you after your accident are helpful as you recover from your accident and pay your medical bills, you may be entitled to additional compensation through a construction accident claim.
Machinery accidents are not a new problem. They go back to the industrial revolution. And while technology has changed a great deal since the 1800s, workers are still getting hurt or killed as a result of machinery accidents.
According to OSHA’s most frequently cited standards by Federal OSHA in fiscal year 2018, which is October 1, 2017, through September 30, 2018, the 9th most cited standard violation is Machinery and Machine Guarding.
One of the biggest issues with machinery is that there are so many moving parts. Losing a figure can be commonplace in some factories or workplaces. A machine’s many moving parts has the potential to result in a plethora of severe workplace injuries, such as crushed fingers or crushed hands, leg amputations, arm amputations, hand amputations, loss of finger or fingers, burns, or blindness. There are many safeguards set in place in order to ensure and protect workers from these preventable injuries. Many factors have extensive safety training before beginning a job and even weekly or monthly safety training. There are many safeguards for any and every part of a machine that has the potential to cause injury, but despite all the safety precautions machinery accidents still happen.
One of the most serious and debilitating injuries that are a result of a machinery accident are amputations, which are widespread. Machinery accident amputations can happen with different machines and in various situations, but they most often occur if a workers operates an unguarded or inadequately safeguarded mechanical power presses, power press brakes, powered and non-powered conveyors, printing presses, roll-forming and roll-bending machines, food slicers, meat grinders, meat-cutting band saws, drill presses, and milling machines as well as shears, grinders, and slitters. Short cuts when it comes to machine safety can lead to long or permanent disability. However amputations can happen if an employer taking cost-cutting measures that create an unsafe work environments which go against OSHA regulations.
Many DC machinery accident injuries happen during activities like using a fork lift or trash compactor. There are certain stationary machines that require actions that are more dangerous to workers like if you are setting up, threading, preparing, adjusting, cleaning, lubricating, and maintaining machines as well as clearing jams.
There are different types of hazardous machine components that can lead to machine accidents in the DC area. All mechanical motion is potentially hazardous, especially at nip points (“pinch points”), which is when two parts move together and at least one moves in a rotary or circular motion that gears, rollers, belt drives, and pulleys generate. From rotating, pulling, punching while on the job, there are so many different machinery accidents that can and have happened. If you have been injured as a result of a machinery accident and/or your employer has been negligent in any way, you may be owed compensation for pain and suffering, as well as any loss of wages (past and future).
If you have been involved in a DC workplace machinery accident, you may want to review records of other work-related injuries and illnesses. You should also file a complaint with OSHA and ask for OSHA to inspect your workplace, especially if you believe there is a serious hazard or your employer may not be following OSHA’s rules. If your workplace has several or continued OSHA violations, it may strengthen your machinery accident lawsuit case. If you have had a machinery accident DC, don’t hesitate to contact an expert DC machinery accident attorney to discuss what is right for you.
If you were injured while using equipment, you could potentially be entitled to financial compensation through a product liability claim. Depending on the specific laws of the state, you would likely have to prove that the machine malfunctioned, which caused you to incur an injury, and then you could file a lawsuit against the product manufacturer. These types of product liability claims are often hard to carry out, so consider contacting the Washington DC injury lawyers at Cohen & Cohen for the details surrounding how and when to file a product liability lawsuit rather than attempting to carry it out on your own.
Discuss Your Case With Our Machinery Accident Attorneys
Whether your accident was while working on a farm, on a construction site, or in a factory, your injury might have been prevented if your worksite was a safer place. Electrical failings, mechanical defects, failure of safety devices, or someone not paying attention while working the machinery causes many machinery injuries. If your injury was caused by someone else’s flawed machinery or someone else’s negligence, you should be and often are eligible for more compensation.
If you or someone you care about was recently injured in a machinery accident, on the job or otherwise, contact the knowledgeable and experienced machinery accident attorneys at Cohen & Cohen. No office can match the professionalism with which your case will be handled as your machinery accident attorney fights for your rights to compensation after your machinery accident. Call the offices of the machinery accident attorney at Cohen & Cohen today and get your situation evaluated to find out how much your product liability claim, construction accident claim, or personal injury claim could be worth.
