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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducts training seminars nationwide to assist employers in identifying and controlling amputation hazards in the workplace. Despite this fact, numerous companies receive citations and fines from the OSHA for exposing workers to amputation dangers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an alarming 10,000 workers suffer amputations through workplace hazards every year, contributing to 6.5 percent of all amputations performed nationally.

Many workplace injuries require amputation

The manufacturing and construction sectors make up two-thirds of all amputation claims, and occur most often to workers who operate and maintain machinery. According to the OSHA, workplace injuries resulting in amputations are widespread and involve many varieties of equipment. In the manufacturing sector, some of the most frequent safety violations cited by the OSHA include: inadequate safety guards on power presses, saws, conveyers, grinders, and milling machines that prevent fingers and arms from being pulled into machinery, failures to conduct “lockout-tagout” inspections which ensure machines remain off when conducting routine maintenance, failures to conduct regular equipment inspections, and inadequate training of new employees regarding the safe operation of machines.

The numbers tell the story. Workers getting caught or compressed in running equipment account for 83% of amputation accidents. A vast proportion of claims, 48%, are for amputation accidents occurring during a worker’s first year on the job, and 22% occur within the first three months.

Most commonly, workers suffer the loss of fingers and thumbs. However, 3% of amputation injuries involve the loss of hands and arms, and another 3% involve the loss of legs. Every year, 600 workers in the U.S. lose a limb while on the job.

Workplace injuries are very costly

The costs to both employers and workers can be staggering. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, amputation injuries are among the most costly worker claims by injury. Recovery from traumatic amputation is a long process, resulting in many days of lost labor. Those recovering from such workplace injuries can expect be faced with expensive hospital bills, lost wages, and painful therapies.

Many other workplace injuries assail America's workers, of course. These injuries also may require costly and extensive medical treatment and involve loss of wages. That means the worker must seek compensation in order survive financially.

Contact an Alder workplace injury lawyer for help

If you or a loved one has suffered a workplace injury resulting in an amputated body part or other physical travail, you may be entitled to compensation from your employer. Inadequate safety training, exposure to hazardous equipment and general negligence can jeopardize your safety while on the job.

When such negligence has led to any workplace injury, an experienced workplace injury lawyer is needed. Contact Jim S. Adler & Associates to receive a free case review, and make sure your rights are protected.

DISCLAIMER: Located at 3D/International Tower, 1900 West Loop South, 20th Floor, Houston, Texas 77027, Jim S. Adler & Associates is licensed to practice in Texas. The law firm also works in conjunction with outside counsel and local counsel to litigate claims in other states as appropriate. These states include:

Jim S. Adler & Associates also has offices at City Place Building, 2711 North Haskell Ave., Suite 2100 LB40, Dallas, Texas 75204-2887; Bank of America, 12605 East Freeway, Suite 400, Houston, Texas 77015-5619 (serving Channelview, Texas); and San Pedro Plaza, 7330 San Pedro Ave., Suite 700, San Antonio, Texas 78216-6237.

WORKPLACE INJURY ARTICLES...

Benzene causes many workplace injuries

Occupational exposure to benzene is the highest risk for long-term exposure to the substance. Because workers in manufacturing industries that make or use benzene are continually exposed for hours a day, they hold the most cases of exposure and death by benzene. The reason that this group is at the highest risk for exposure is because they are directly handling benzene and ingesting the chemical at a higher level than people who do not work in manufacturing industries.

Workplace injuries requiring amputation often are preventable

A United States Bureau of Labor Statistics paper released in 2003 reported that between 1992 and 1999 there were on average 21 fatal amputations and 11,000 non-fatal amputations in the workplace. Most of these – 53% – were in the manufacturuing industry. In fact workers in manufacturing were almost three times more likely to be an amputation victim at work. Operators, fabricators, and laborers accounted for more work-related amputations than all other sectors combined.

Amputations from workplace accidents take a toll

Avoiding amputations is nearly always possible, unless you are suffering from certain medical conditions. In the workplace, amputations can always be avoided by following proper procedures, being properly training on how to use large equipment, and by practicing safety habits. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 1992 and 1999, there was an average of 21 fatal and more than 11,000 nonfatal amputations annually in the workplace, with the majority of these amputees consisting of operators, fabricators, and manual laborers.