Machinery of varied complexities, sizes, and uses can be found on almost every industrial workplace here in Illinois and Indiana. While machines allow workers to do more with less physical effort, they also increase their risk of catastrophic bodily injuries or even death. For instance, workers run the risk of being severely burned or blinded in a machinery accident. There is also a great risk of crushing injuries and even amputations of limbs caused by failure in the machine’s functioning.
Accordingly, all industrial workplaces are heavily regulated by law to try and prevent these kinds of industrial machine accidents.
Machine guarding is part of every employer’s duty of care and safety, and there may also be legal duties of safety imposed upon others in possession or control of parts of the job site. Specific safety standards have been adopted for those working in (1) agriculture; (2) construction; (3) maritime; and (4) general industry.
As the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) explains:
“Moving machine parts have the potential to cause severe workplace injuries, such as crushed fingers or hands, amputations, burns, or blindness. Safeguards are essential for protecting workers from these preventable injuries.
Any machine part, function, or process that may cause injury must be safeguarded. When the operation of a machine or accidental contact injure the operator or others in the vicinity, the hazards must be eliminated or controlled.”
How dangerous is it to work with machinery on the job?
Working with industrial machinery is very hazardous and it is easy for a worker to be severely injured within seconds. Research reveals industrial machinery causes over 18,000 worker injuries each year in this country, with a June 2020 study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”) warning that over half (58%) of all machine accidents result in amputation injuries. For more on amputations, read Amputation Injuries from On-the-Job Work Accidents in Indiana or Illinois.
The danger is well-known to employers. How well they are responding to this controllable hazard is questionable. Consider this: OSHA has placed the failure of employers to provide machine safeguards on its “Top Ten List” of the most-often federal safety violations in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Machine Guards and Worker Safety
One of the most basic methods of protecting workers from machinery injuries on the job is to block their direct contact with the machine or its components through the use of “machine guards.” OSHA mandates that any machine that has the capability to hurt a worker to be provided with a machine guard. They come in several different forms, including:
- Adjustable guards
- Fixed guards
- Interlocking guards
- Self-adjusting guards.
Worker Machinery Injuries and Employer’s Duty of Care
Employers have a lot to do in order to meet their duty of care and safety for workers assigned tasks involving any kind of industrial machinery. They include:
- Providing proper machine guards for each machine
- Providing each worker with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”)
- Inspecting all machines and their machine guards daily and before use by a worker
- Providing worker training in how to use the machine safely
- Having proper supervision of the worksite
- Training workers in how to recognize if there is a safety hazard with a particular machine on the worksite
- Labelling any dangerous hazards with “Do Not Use” signs
- Having a “stop work” procedure in place for discovered machinery hazards
- Having an established procedure for repair or replacement of the machine or its parts
- Having proper lockout and tagout policies in place before any hazards need to be addressed.
For more, read:
- Workplace Housekeeping and Serious Accidents on the Job: Duty of Care
- Lockout Tagout Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Employer Liability
- Personal Protective Equipment and Serious Industrial Accidents
- Worker’s Right to Stop Dangerous Work Operations in Indiana and Illinois.
Claims for Justice After a Machine Accident on the Job in Indiana or Illinois
When a worker is catastrophically harmed in a work accident involving machinery, then the employer and others in control of aspects of the workplace may be found to have breached their legal duties of care and safety and become legally responsible to the injured worker and their loved ones for the tragic consequences of their dereliction of duty. See, Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
Liability of Other Parties
There is also the possible legal liability for any industrial machine accident with the manufacturer of the machine or its component parts. Designs themselves may be defective or a particular machine may be flawed. Companies responsible for inspection, repair, upgrade, or maintenance of the machine may also have legal responsibility for any machine accident that causes harm to a worker when they are shown to have failed to do their tasks in a reasonable and prudent manner. See, Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents.
In our part of the country, workers who have been seriously injured in a machinery accident or an incident involving machinery guard failure will proceed through the state’s workers’ compensation system for relief. However, each case deserves its own independent evaluation. There may be occasions where state laws involving negligence, defective products, premises liability, and other personal injury laws may be applicable.
For more, read:
- Beware One of the Deadliest Dangers on Construction Sites: Struck-By Accidents
- Caught In-Between Hazards: One of OSHA’s “Fatal Four” Deadly Construction Accidents
- Fatal Industrial Warehouse Accidents in Indiana and Illinois.
In Indiana and Illinois, it is the legal duty of the employer to know the workplace and to assess the risk workers face on each and every machine on the site. The failure to do so, and the failure to provide adequate safeguards for workers who are asked to work with industrial machinery, can cause life-threatening injuries with tragic consequences. Please be careful out there!
