Workplace Machinery Accidents

Workplace Machinery Accidents

Where the correct safety procedures have not been followed there is the potential to suffer injury, the extent of those injuries is likely to be much more serious in environments where machinery is used on a day to day basis, such as construction sites, manufacturing plants, factories, farms and garages. Generally machine accidents result from:

• A lack of servicing and maintenance
• A lack of training
• A lack of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Health and safety measures not being put in place

In most cases, the problem lies not with the machines themselves but in the way that they are used. The majority of workplace machinery accidents occur because the equipment is not well maintained, not used correctly, not properly guarded and the person operating the equipment isn’t fully protected.

There are many ways in which work equipment can cause injury. Among the most common are:

• Entanglement – when uniform, gloves, hair become caught
• Crushing – when workers are crushed by moving parts or a tip over of a vehicle
• Entrapment – limbs for example are caught in moving parts of the machine
• Contact – when parts of the body come into contact with sharp edges or hot elements
• Emission – debris thrown out of the equipment with force

Dangerous equipment comes in all shapes and sizes, the forklift truck in the warehouse, the hydraulic press at the metal fabricating factory, the crane at the construction site, rotating blades on a combine harvester. As gears turn, blades cut and presses compact, each movement carries thousands of pounds of force behind it. Even insignificant pieces of machinery could lead to serious injury for example an unsecured lever could catch on an employee’s uniform and drag them under a dangerous mechanism.

Workplace machinery accidents can have a devastating effect on those injured and their loved ones. Along with ill health, prolonged pain, and psychological issues there may be financial consequences. In extreme cases families may suffer the loss of a loved one causing further financial pressure.

If your life or that of a loved one has been affected by a machinery accident in the workplace we can help.

Contact us today for free, no obligation advice regarding your Accident At Work claim – either by calling us free on 0800 028 2060, or by requesting a free call back, whereby one of our team will contact you at a time of your choice, to discuss your situation.

We’re here to help – contact us today.