Gear and pulley accidents may cause serious injuries to workers who use machines. These injuries may include crushed limbs, crushed hands, severed fingers, and even death. Employers should install adequate safeguards to protect workers when possible from any dangerous and moving machine parts that could cause injuries. Areas that usually require safeguarding on a machine include the place where work is being performed on a piece of material, the parts of the system that transmit energy (such as a pulley or gear), and other moving parts. At Pulgini & Norton, our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys can help you seek benefits for machine accidents on the job.
Seeking Benefits for a Gear or Pulley AccidentSafeguards should be installed on machines to prevent the worker's body from contacting any dangerous moving part, and workers should not be able to tamper with the safeguard. Safeguards also should not create any new hazards or interference. The worker should know how to use any safeguards and why. Detailed training is necessary to protect workers from the hazards associated with gears, pulleys, and other machine parts.
Unfortunately, not all employers take the time to make sure that workers are properly trained in using a machine or any installed safeguards. Even if an employer provides training and protective clothing, the clothing may get caught in a gear and cause serious injuries to the worker. After any sort of gear or pulley accident that results in injuries, you should seek prompt medical care. Although your employer is likely to be aware of any catastrophic injury that occurs on-site with a machine, it is still a good idea to notify the employer of your job-related injuries in writing.
Workers' compensation benefits are available without the need to prove an employer's fault. In fact, you may be able to recover benefits even if your employer trained you in using the machine, and even if the accident was your own fault. Most Massachusetts employers must provide workers' compensation insurance coverage to their employees. Benefits may include medical benefits, disability benefits, disfigurement, scarring, loss of function, and vocational rehabilitation. How much you would receive for any of these depends on the severity of your injuries.
For example, the amount of money that you may recover as disability pay depends on whether you are permanently or temporarily disabled, and whether the disability is partial or total. For a total and permanent disability, you may get benefits equal to 2/3 of your average weekly wage on a permanent basis. For total temporary disability, you may recover benefits of 60% of your average weekly wage, but only for up to 156 weeks. Workers who suffer a partial disability may recover disability benefits that are equal to 60% of the difference between their average weekly wage before the injury and after it. You will not be paid for the first five days of disability, unless your disability lasts 21 days or more.
Discuss Your Job Injury Claim with a Boston AttorneyMachines are extremely useful to companies, but with multiple moving parts, they carry a risk of serious injuries. It is important to take appropriate precautions and try to get adequate training for working with machines on the job. If you suffer injuries in a gear or pulley accident, you may be entitled to workers' compensation benefits. The Boston lawyers at Pulgini & Norton may be able to provide knowledgeable legal counsel and representation. We handle claims in Weymouth, Newton, Andover, and elsewhere in Massachusetts. For a free consultation with a job injury attorney, contact us online or call us at 781-843-2200.