Work Injuries Sustained as a Result of Machine Entanglement

There are many injuries that are more common in the workplace, such as violent acts, repetitive motion injuries, vehicle accidents, and more. At the top of the list remains one very serious type of injury that affects many employees every year: Machine entanglement. These types of injuries occur in factories where heavy equipment and machinery are used. When employers fail to properly train employees or safety is forgotten, it is possible for clothing, shoes, and fingers to get entangled in machinery. This is why proper measures and protective equipment must be remembered every day in these types of industries.

One of the major issues involved in these accidents is clothing and hair getting caught in machines. In one such case in New Jersey, a man was killed when he was working construction and his clothing became entangled on a rotating drilling pipe. When the victim was attaching lengths of pipe, the rotating drill pipe was pulled back toward the rig. A loose end of the victim’s clothing was to blame for the entanglement, when it caught hold of him and pulled the victim around the drill. This called for better protective measures, such as workers not wearing loose clothing when they work around machinery, employers keeping better communication on the job, and emergency stop devices being used in machinery.

Safeguarding in the Workplace 

Moving machinery can pose extreme hazards in a variety of different workplaces, which is why it is important to remember safety precautions at all times. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has implemented a rule to remember: “Any machine part, function, or process which may cause injury must be safeguarded.” If your employer has failed to take safety measures or has improperly trained you for the job at hand, you may have a case if you have fallen victim to one of these accidents. Call us today if you have sustained a workplace injury and wonder where to turn.