Our Ohio Workers' Compensation Lawyer Explains Your Rights After a Machine Crush Injury
Accidents can occur at any workplace, but the risk of sustaining a severe injury is significantly higher for those employed in heavy machinery industries. Machine crush injuries pose grave dangers to workers, often resulting in life-altering consequences. Ohio workers' compensation provides crucial support, including medical care, rehabilitation, and financial assistance if you're injured in a machine crush accident. At Monast Law Office, we’ll explain your rights and legal options after a machine crush injury.
Causes of Machine Crush Injuries
Machine crush injuries happen when a body part, such as a hand, arm, or leg, becomes caught or trapped between moving parts of equipment. These injuries are often severe and result in crushing, tearing, or even amputation of the affected body part. The recovery process for victims of machinery crush injuries can be long and challenging, requiring extensive medical treatment, rehabilitation, and possibly even multiple surgeries.
These traumatic conditions typically happen due to various factors, including:
- Inadequate machine guarding
- Lack of proper safety protocols
- Equipment malfunction or defect
- Human error
- Insufficient training
Crush accidents cause severe medical conditions, such as:
- Damage to muscles or nerves
- Skin tissue damage
- Broken bones
- Internal damage
- Severed or amputated limbs
Jobs That Put Workers at High Risk of Crush Injuries
From factory workers to construction laborers, many professionals are susceptible to machine crush injuries. Typical industries that display high rates of such accidents include, but aren’t limited to:
- Manufacturing
- Construction
- Agriculture
- Landscaping
- Trucking
- Logging
- Commercial fishing
Workers often use heavy machinery—such as presses, forklifts, conveyor belts, and assembly line equipment—prompting a heightened crush injury risk.
Understanding Workers' Compensation in Ohio
Workers' compensation in Ohio operates on a no-fault basis. This means injured workers are entitled to workers’ comp benefits regardless of who is to blame for the accident. However, Ohio law generally prohibits employees from suing their employers for workplace injuries.
However, exceptions exist, especially when employers have violated specific safety standards, such as deliberately removing a protective guard from machinery, leading to a crush injury. In such instances, an injured worker may pursue legal action against their employer.
Types of Ohio Workers’ Comp Disability Claims
These types of injuries may result in both permanent and temporary disability claims. Your condition may be so severe that you’re unable to work. The Ohio workers’ compensation system offers several types of disability benefits:
- Temporary total disability benefits are provided to employees to replace part of their lost wages until they can return to work or until their condition stabilizes.
- Permanent total disability benefits are available to workers who suffer severe and permanent impairments that render them unable to perform any substantial gainful employment. In crush injuries, depending on the severity, an employee may experience permanent disabilities such as loss of limb or severe impairment of mobility, which could lead to a permanent total disability claim under workers' compensation.
- Permanent partial disability awards, whether through amputation, loss of use, or whole-person impairment, may be available depending on the severity of the injury and the amount of lost function.
Understanding the Workers' Compensation Claims Process
Experiencing a crush injury at work is a traumatic and terrifying experience. Combined with filing and navigating a workers' compensation claim for machinery crush injuries in Ohio, the whole process is often overwhelming, especially when dealing with the physical and emotional toll of a crush injury. So, seeking guidance from the skilled legal team at Monast Law Office is essential. We can help you understand your rights, gather necessary documentation, navigate any disputes or appeals, and fight for the full benefits you’re entitled to under Ohio law.
