Machinery Accidents and Amputations

 

Machine Amputation in the manufacturing industry are unfortunate accidents that happen in the workplace. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has extensive regulations in place, thousands of workers each year may lose fingers, hands, feet, and other body parts–mostly through compression, crushing, or by getting them caught between or struck by objects. Most amputations involve fingertips. (osha.gov).

Employers have the responsibility to provide a safe workplace. Employers must protect workers from machine amputation hazards through adequate guarding and employee training on how to do the job safely. The best way to prevent amputations caused by stationary or portable machinery is with machine safeguarding:

• Guards provide physical barriers to hazardous areas. They should be secure and strong, and workers should not be able to bypass, remove, or tamper with them. Guards should not obstruct the operator’s view or prevent others from working.
• Devices help prevent contact with points of operation and may replace or supplement guards. Devices can interrupt the normal cycle of the machine when the operator’s hands are at the point of operation.

This accidents are caused many times by absence of guards or safety equipment.  These accidents can have life changing affects for injured workers. If you’ve had a manufacturing accident that resulted in an amputation, contact us at 419-843-6663 or online.

 

Amputations Occur Most Often When the Following Industries According to OSHA:

 

• Construction Site
• Meat Packing Plant
• Poultry Slaughtering and Processing Plant
• Natural, Processed, and Imitation Cheese Plants
• Farm
• Bakery
• Commercial Kitchen
• Textile Plant
• Logging Operation
• Sawmill
• Planing Mill
• Hardwood Flooring Mill
• Cabinet Shop and Manufacturing Plant
• Wood Pallet Manufacturing Plant
• Wood Furniture Shop and Plant
• Paper Box Plant – Corrugated and Solid Fiber Boxes
• Plants that Package Paper and Plastics Film, Coated and Laminated
• Commercial Printing and Lithographic
• Plants That Make Plastics Products
• Companies That Manufacture Concrete Products
• Concrete Construction Companies
• Metalworking at a Plant, Construction Site or Other
• Plants Manufacturing Cold-Rolled Steel Sheet, Strip, Bar, Pipe and Tubing
• Companies that Use Cold-Rolled Steel Sheets, Strips and Bars, Pipes and Tubes
• Steel Foundries
• Boiler Shops
• Sheet Metal Work
• Architectural and Ornamental Metal Work
• Iron and Steel Forging
• Automotive Stamping
• Metal Stamping
• Companies that Use or Manufacture Fabricated Wire Products and Fabricated Metal Products
• Tool and Die Plant – Tools, Die Sets, Jigs and Fixtures and Industrial Molds
• Companies that Manufacture and Install Industrial and Commercial Fans and Blowers and Air Purification Equipment
• Heating and Air Conditioning Company – Manufacture, Installation and/or Maintenance
• Refrigeration Company – Manufacture, Installation and/or Maintenance of Refrigeration Equipment
• Automotive or and Motor Vehicle Part Plant – Parts and Accessories

 

Machinery and Equipment with Highest Amputation Risk According to OSHA:

 

• Mechanical Power Press
• Hydraulic Power Press
• Power Press Brake
• Shear
• Lathe
• Cold Header and Cold Former
• Drilling, Milling and Boring Machines
• Grinding Machinery
• Metal Sawing Machine
• Gear Cutting Machine
• Roll-Forming and Roll-Bending Machines
• Coil-Slitting Machine
• Pipe, Tube, and Shape Bending Machines
• Metal Powder Compacting Presses
• Horizontal Hydraulic Extrusion Press
• Equipment for Processing Strip, Sheet or Plate From Coiled Configuration
• External Cylindrical Grinding Machine (Centerless)
• External Cylindrical Grinding Machine (Universal)
• Printing Press
• Binding and Finishing Systems
• Guillotine Paper Cutter
• Abrasive Wheel
• Plastic Film and Sheet Winding Equipment
• Plastic Sheet Production Machinery
• Packaging Machinery and Packaging-Related Converting Machinery
• Three Roller Printing Ink Mill
• Woodworking Machinery
• Mechanical Power Presses, General Purpose Single Point
• Mechanical Power Transmission
• Screw Conveyor
• Roller Conveyor
• Belt Conveyor
• Belt Driven Live Roller Conveyor
• Chain Driven Live Roller Conveyor
• Packaging Handling Conveyor – Slant Conveyor
• Farm Machinery

 

Let the Experienced Attorneys at Gallon, Takacs & Boissoneault Protect You When You’ve Been Injured

 

Manufacturing accidents resulting in amputation can be difficult to prove. Make sure to have the advice of our experienced attorneys to fight for you. If you have had a workplace accident that resulted in an amputation, contact our attorneys at Gallon, Takacs & Boissoneault. Call us at 419-843-6663 or contact us today.