Angle grinders are power tools used for abrasive cutting and polishing. Compressed air, a petrol engine, or an electric motor may power them. They are also known as side grinders or disc grinders. When using an angle grinder, you are supposed to wear a face shield and gloves. While operating the angle grinder, you should keep a firm grip and use the guard. Unfortunately, injuries do sometimes still happen even when workers try to use angle grinders safely. If you suffer angle grinder injuries at your workplace, the injuries may be devastating. At Pulgini & Norton, our experienced Boston workers' compensation attorneys may be able to help you obtain benefits.
Benefits for Angle Grinder InjuriesAngle grinders are used to cut tough materials like cement or stucco or thinner materials. These grinders use different wheels and accessories, depending on the material being cut. Different wheels are appropriate for different tasks.
If an angle grinder hits you, the injuries may be catastrophic or deadly. For example, a penetrating cranial injury from the use of an angle grinder is potentially fatal. In such cases, the disc hits the head of an operator or a coworker, and it can fracture the skull or alter the brain. Emergency care is necessary, and doctors must be careful about removing any foreign bodies that have become implanted in the skull or surrounding areas.
If you suffer angle grinder injuries, you should seek immediate emergency care. Your employer may require you to visit a doctor who is within its preferred provider group for a first scheduled visit. However, after that, you may see a doctor of your choice. The employer's insurer should provide you with an insurance card or number so that the doctor may bill the insurer directly.
You should not assume that liability has been accepted just because the insurer begins paying your hospital bills and provides temporary disability benefits. The insurer has a 180-day pay without prejudice period, during which time it may continue to investigate the nature of your injuries and their extent. When angle grinder injuries are suffered in a workplace with many witnesses, it may be less likely that the insurer will challenge that the injury is job-related, but insurers may challenge the extent of the injury or the nature of the care that is necessary. An experienced attorney can help make sure that you receive the full scope of the benefits to which you are entitled.
If you are a spouse or child of a worker who died because of angle grinder injuries, you may be worried about how you will pay bills or the mortgage, on top of dealing with the grief that you feel. You might be able to obtain death benefits through the workers' compensation system. Like workers' compensation benefits for injuries, the amount paid may not fully make up for your losses, but it may be enough to get by.
Death benefits include up to $4,000 in burial expenses, as well as weekly benefits that are two-thirds of the spouse or parent's average weekly wage, up to a maximum sum set by Massachusetts. As the spouse of the decedent, you may receive benefits as long as you do not remarry. If you are a spouse who remarried, your eligible dependent children may receive $60 per week. But you should be aware that the total sum that the insurer pays to dependent kids may not be more than what you received as a spouse.
Hire a Boston Lawyer for Your Work Injury ClaimYou may be entitled to workers' compensation benefits as a result of angle grinder injuries sustained in a Boston workplace. Each claim is unique, and you should talk about what happened with an attorney before assuming that an insurer's reasons for denying the claim or paying you fewer benefits than what you believe are appropriate are valid. At Pulgini & Norton, our workplace accident lawyers can advise workers on claims arising out of many different industries. We also handle claims in Andover, Newton, and Lowell, among other Massachusetts cities. For a consultation, contact us online or call us at 781-843-2200.