Working with and around heavy machinery comes with significant risks. It is critical for workers to receive proper training, assistance, supervision and protection from their employers when working with heavy machinery. Otherwise, they run a higher risk of catastrophic and fatal accidents and injuries.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a heavy machinery accident at work in Boston, Massachusetts, contact Barry D. Lang, M.D. & Associates to request a free case consultation. We are passionate about protecting the rights of injured workers.
How Can a Heavy Machinery Accident Attorney in Boston Help?
The right attorney can make it easier for you and your family to work through the legal process while also dealing with significant injuries, such as a traumatic brain injury or the loss of a limb. Your lawyer will guide you to the best route for your financial recovery, such as a workers’ compensation claim in Massachusetts or a lawsuit against an at-fault party. Then, your lawyer will handle the legal aspects of your case for you while you focus on healing.
How Much Does a Lawyer Cost?
At Barry D. Lang, M.D. & Associates, we don’t get paid unless the client wins his or her case. If you don’t receive financial compensation for your heavy machinery accident in Boston, you won’t owe us anything for our legal services, guaranteed. If your case does result in a successful settlement or judgment award, you will pay our fee as a percentage of the overall amount secured for your losses. That way, you never pay us directly out of your own pocket.
What Is Heavy Machinery?
Heavy machinery describes large, industrial pieces of equipment that may be necessary to perform certain jobs, such as construction projects. They often have a lot of moving parts and components, such as wheels, cogs, blades and belts. They are large and can weigh tens of thousands of pounds. Common types of heavy machinery include:
- Excavators
- Forklifts
- Cranes
- Tractors
- Steamrollers
- Pumps
- Bulldozers
- Dump trucks
- Bucket trucks
- Woodchipper
- Backhoe
All employees who have to work with or near heavy machinery and industrial equipment should receive training in how to do so safely. Unfortunately, not all employers fulfill this responsibility. Inadequate training and a lack of safety protocols can increase the risk of devastating heavy machinery incidents.
Types of Heavy Machinery Accidents in the Workplace in Boston
Many different disasters are associated with heavy machinery and industrial equipment in Boston each year. According to the Massachusetts Survey of Occupational Injuries & Illnesses Report, 6.5 percent of all workplace accidents that resulted in one or more days away from work in 2019 were caused by machinery. In addition, contact with objects or equipment resulted in 7,030 cases, or 22.2 percent. Examples of these disasters include:
- Being pulled into a piece of machinery due to a lack of machine guards.
- Falling into a piece of equipment from above.
- Getting crushed or run over by a heavy truck or vehicle.
- Being crushed or struck in the head by a crane collapse.
- Being thrown from or trapped under a vehicle in a rollover accident.
Heavy machinery and equipment accidents can cause severe, catastrophic and fatal injuries to workers. A worker could suffer lacerations, amputations, brain trauma, spinal cord injuries, paralysis, third-degree burns, scarring and disfigurement, permanent disability, and wrongful death in a heavy machinery accident. The injured worker or his or her surviving loved ones may be eligible for financial compensation for this type of trauma in Boston.
What Causes Heavy Machinery Accidents?
Identifying the cause of a heavy machinery accident is one of the first steps to take as an injured worker in Boston. This will help you determine your legal options, such as whether you have grounds to bring a lawsuit against your employer or a third party for negligence. Some of the reasons we see most often for heavy machinery and equipment accidents in Boston are:
- Poor machinery maintenance. A piece of heavy machinery becomes much more dangerous when it has been neglected. Little to no machinery maintenance can lead to hazards such as missing machine guards, broken pieces, and equipment malfunctions or breakdowns.
- Inadequate worker training or supervision. Employers should implement and enforce safety protocols to make sure all workers are properly trained. They should also supervise new workers and those in training when they first start operating heavy machinery.
- Reckless coworkers. Some heavy machinery accidents are caused by fellow workers. A reckless coworker may break the rules and put everyone else in danger, for example. Employers can generally be held vicariously liable for the actions of their employees in Massachusetts.
- Equipment defects. In some cases, a machine or piece of equipment at work comes from the factory with dangerous defects. If the machinery has design, manufacturing or marketing defects that make it inherently unsafe, an injured worker may have grounds for a product liability claim in Boston.
If negligence caused or contributed to your heavy machinery accident or a loved one’s death on the job in Boston, you may be entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit against the employer or at-fault party, including the manufacturer of a defective piece of equipment. An attorney at Barry D. Lang, M.D. & Associates can review your case to let you know if it has merit as a personal injury or wrongful death claim.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits for a Heavy Machinery Accident in Boston
You can receive financial compensation for your medical expenses, partial lost wages, disability costs, vocational rehabilitation or the loss of a loved one’s life even without proof of negligence. Massachusetts’ workers’ compensation system entitles all employees to financial benefits for accidents and injuries that arise within the scope and course of their employment, whether or not an employer or another party was negligent. A workers’ compensation attorney in Boston can help you protect your rights by ensuring fair workers’ comp benefits for your injuries and losses.
Contact a Heavy Machinery Accident Lawyer in Boston, MA
After being injured in a heavy machinery accident in Boston, do not trust your employer or an insurance company to protect your best interests. Only a lawyer works for you and only you. Contact an attorney at Barry D. Lang, M.D. & Associates for an honest and reliable case evaluation. We will listen to your story and treat your case as if it were our own. Discuss your legal options with a friendly and knowledgeable attorney in Boston today by calling 1-877-LAW-DOCS.