Injuries involving people being cut or hurt by blades, stock bars, in lathes, or in any other dangerous part of machinery, are worryingly common in the workplace. This isn’t because we lack the necessary health and safety legislation though; in fact the laws we have in the UK to protect employees are quite extensive.
Despite this, there are so many incidents that involve these exact circumstances and we take on and win a lot of claims for work accidents involving machinery – so if this has happened to you, read on for advice.
Hand or arm pulled in to machinery by a blade – the facts!
Firstly this should never be allowed to happen. There are several ways in which this can be prevented, and your employer is responsible for ensuring that their duties are upheld:
- Overalls and sleeves or other clothing should not be worn where they could be pulled in to machinery
- Blades should have guards to prevent access where intentionally or accidentally
- Controls must be set up so that blades should stop moving immediately – such as using a trigger system where the blade only rotates when a button or trigger is in use
- Emergency stop controls and isolation systems need to be in place to use in case of emergency
- Training should be provided for employees to be aware of dangers and know how to avoid them
- Supervision should always be in place where necessary
If your employer has failed in their duty of care to protect you in line with the simple guidelines above that can apply, you may be eligible to make a claim for personal injury compensation.
The injuries that can be sustained when a limb is caught by a rotating blade can be severe; especially where overalls pull an arm or hand in because the limb can be caught and serious damage can be done.
We have a team of specialist serious injury lawyers who represent victims of catastrophic injuries all the time – that is all the lawyers within our serious injury claims team deal with. It takes more than just any old law firm to represent you where injuries are serious, and our exert team of highly qualified and experienced lawyers are very well placed to assist.
As a real law firm we are a one-stop service for all of your needs so give us a call 0800 634 7575 today.
