Indiana’s Automotive & RV Manufacturing Industry: Dangerous Worksites

How Personal Injury Attorneys Help Motor Vehicle Factory Workers Hurt on the Job

Fame has come to Detroit automakers as being the national hub of the motor vehicle manufacturing industry, but Indiana makes a tremendous contribution to this segment of the economy, with vehicle factories making cars, SUVs, trucks, and recreational vehicles (RVs). For more, read “Automobile Industry,” in the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis.

Consider this: out of the top fifteen factory employers in the Hoosier State, Industry Select research confirms the following:

• No. 2 in employees (7840): Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana, Inc. (Princeton, Indiana), making full-size SUVs, minivans, and vehicle assembly, such as Sienna, Highlander, Grand Highlander, and Lexus TX;
• No. 4 in employees (6350): Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. (Lafayette, Indiana), making Subaru vehicles like Legacy, Outback, and Impreza;
• No. 7 in employees (4450): General Motors, Fort Wayne Assembly (Roanoke, Indiana), making GM trucks and vehicles like Sierra and Silverado; and
• No. 11 in employees (2700): Honda Manufacturing of Indiana LLC (Greensburg, Indiana), making Honda vehicles such as Civic Hatchback, Civic Hatchback Hybrid, CR-V, and CR-V Hybrid.

Moreover, the Indiana Recreational Vehicle factories lead the nation in manufacturing of travel trailers; fifth-wheels; truck campers; and motor homes (Class A; B; and C). Read, 2024 RV Industry Profile, published by the RV Industry Association, where it is reported that “…Indiana overwhelmingly continues to lead the country in RV production, manufacturing nearly 86 percent of all RVs in the United States and Canada.”

Dangerous Risks for Factory Workers Making Cars, Trucks, SUVs, or RVs

Working in any vehicle factories, whether the work involves building cars, trucks, SUVs, or recreational vehicles (RVs) is recognized as being dangerous for many reasons. Factory workers on these jobsites must deal with hazards involving things like heavy machinery; industrial trucks (forklifts); high-speed assembly lines; chemicals; hazardous materials; power tools; robotic arms; welding.

There are significant industrial standards as well as laws and regulations creating legal duties of care and safety that are all designed to keep automotive factory workers safe from harm. Unfortunately, all too often work accidents do happen in these manufacturing sites regardless of known risks and understood protections.

Factory workers get hurt, sometimes suffering life-altering bodily harm or even death as as result of the work accident. In an instant, a worker employed to help build recreational vehicles or various types of cars, trucks, or SUVs, can be severely injured in:

• Caught-in or between accidents: a part of the worker’s body (finger, hand, arm, torso, etc.) becomes trapped between moving machine parts or between a machine and another object, resulting in horrific crushing injuries or amputations at the scene or later as a result of medical necessity.
• Struck-by incidents: the factory worker is hurt by falling tools or parts or by moving equipment like a forklift.
• Falling accidents: working in a factory endangers the workers to falls from ladders, platforms, scaffolds, or from slip and fall injuries caused by a wet floor.
• Burn accidents: factory workers can suffer serious burns and resulting scarring and disfigurement from contact with hot surfaces or industrial chemicals.
• Electrocutions: factory floors inherently have electrical components where workers may be injured or killed when coming into contact with live wires or electrical components.

How a Lawyer Can Help Factory Worker Hurt in Auto or RV Manufacturing Plant Accident

For an automotive or RV manufacturing factory worker hurt on the jobsite, there are several ways that an experienced Indiana personal injury attorney can help both the worker and their loved ones. The attorney chosen by the factory worker to advocate for them can do things like:

1. Investigate all the reasons for the accident, working with accident reconstruction experts to determine what caused the harm and identifying any third parties aside from the employer who may have been responsible;

2. Do the proper legal research and assembly of authenticated and admissible evidence to support the civil claims for damages available to the worker victim and their loved ones;

3. Help the injured factory worker obtain workers’ compensation benefits under the Indiana workers’ compensation laws;

4. Tally monetary damages available under the law as well as confirm benefits available under the workers’ compensation insurance coverage provided by the employer;

5. Negotiate with those who are responsible for the factory worker’s harm for potential settlement as well as preparing and participating in courtroom adjudication of justice for the factory worker hurt on the job;

6. Support the factory worker and their family members during this entire process, from explaining legal options and answering questions to shielding them from intrusive and upsetting or overwhelming communications from insurance companies, the media, etc.

Also read: Common & Severe Work Related Injuries: How Do Attorneys Protect Workers?

Justice After a Serious Work Accident in a Indiana Factory Making Cars, SUVs, Trucks, Vans, or RVs

Personal injury attorneys working with the factory worker hurt on the job in a manufacturing facility making motor vehicles or RVs here in Indiana will be able to assess legal claims for damages. Each case is unique and deserves independent study and analysis.

Personal injury claims for motor vehicle or RV manufacturing factory accidents may be based upon things like (1) product liability involving defective parts, equipment, or machinery; (2) failures to warn; (3) negligence involving outside contractors for things like improper repair or maintenance; (4) premises liability for things like design failures in plant layout (lighting, traffic control, electricity); (5) professional malpractice (engineering or architectural mistakes involving fixtures, automated systems, etc.)

For more, read:

• Machine Guarding: Serious Industrial Work Accidents Caused by Moving Machine Parts
• Chemical Accidents: Burns, Inhalation, or Neurological Work Injuries on the Job in Indiana or Illinois
• Forklift Accidents: Employer’s Duty to Keep Workers Safe in Indiana and Illinois
• Accident Injuries and Warning Labels:  How Many Have Legal Liability for the Victim’s Harm?
• Worker Injuries Involving Industrial Equipment, Machinery, or Tools.

Hoosiers working in our Indiana vehicle and RV factories must be respected for their vital contributions to both the local, state, and national economies. All too often, they are insufficiently protected from harm while on the job despite longstanding laws establishing safety standards for their jobsite. Breaches in legal duties of care can form the basis of civil actions outside of workers’ compensation benefits.

With careful investigation, accident reconstruction expertise, and legal analysis, those responsible can be held accountable for the harm their failures have caused.

To learn more, read:

• Are There Civil Claims for Damages Against Third-Parties for Your Work Accident?
• Factory Accidents in Indiana: Liability for Work Injuries
• Five Key Differences Between Workers’ Compensation and Civil Claims After Work Accident
• How To Choose the Right Personal Injury Lawyer for You and Your Family.

Indiana factory workers on the job in plants making automobiles, trucks, SUVs, or RVs must face dangers in their workplace that can result in catastrophic injuries or fatal accidents. When tragedy strikes, personal injury lawyers can help these factory worker victims and their loved ones. Please be careful out there!