Securing Maximum Benefits After Equipment Accidents at Work

 Posted on October 13, 2023 in Workers' Compensation

For many California workers, interacting with heavy equipment, machinery, and power tools is an everyday occupational hazard. Construction crews, manufacturing plant employees, agriculture fieldworkers, and workers across industries inevitably operate high-risk equipment as a core job duty. 

When an equipment-related accident occurs at a California workplace, catastrophic injuries often follow instantly, ranging from severe lacerations and crushing injuries to amputations and fatalities. Working with a California lawyer is important to help navigate what to do next.

The Risks of Operating Hazardous Machinery

Working with heavy equipment, machinery, and power tools creates significant risks of injury for employees. Common dangers include:

• Lack of proper safety for dangerous moving parts.
• Failure to implement lockout and tagout procedures to prevent unexpected startups.
• Defective emergency cut-off switches are unable to quickly stop operation when issues arise.
• Poor maintenance generates mechanical failures. 

Insufficient training on unfamiliar equipment and company pressure for faster production that overrides safety concerns also lead to accidents.

Common Types of Machinery That Frequently Cause Injuries

Several categories of equipment routinely endanger workers through defects, misuse, or unsafe conditions:

• Heavy machinery like backhoes, forklifts, and cranes frequently cause crushing injuries, amputations, or falls due to tip-overs, unprotected moving parts, or falling loads.
• Power tools such as table saws, drill presses, and grinders.
• Automotive and lifting equipment like car jacks, hoists, and trucks can suddenly fail or collapse, crushing mechanics.
• Agriculture machinery such as tractors or harvesters contain many hazards, including getting caught in exposed power take-off shafts.
• Food processing equipment like slicers, compactors, and industrial mixers can grab workers’ hands or arms, resulting in traumatic amputations.

Pursuing Workers’ Compensation After Equipment Injuries

Victims of workplace equipment accidents are frequently eligible for compensation through California’s workers’ compensation system. Available benefits may include:

• Full coverage of medical bills, physical therapy costs, rehabilitation, and medication expenses.
• Temporary disability payments compensating for lost wages when injuries prevent work.
• Potential permanent disability ratings acknowledging lasting physical impairment that reduces future earnings.
• Supplemental job displacement vouchers if injuries make returning to a prior occupation infeasible.
• Potential death benefits such as burial costs and survivor income for dependents of fatalities.

Contact a Gilroy, CA Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Pursuing rightful benefits through the workers’ compensation system after serious machinery accidents requires experience. A Santa Clara County, CA workers’ compensation attorney can help with your case. Call Cramer + Martinez at 408-848-1113 for a free consultation.