Workplace accidents and illnesses affect thousands of employees annually in the U.S. While office workers can sustain on-the-job injuries, other occupations present a substantially higher risk. The manufacturing industry consistently ranks among the most dangerous professions, with 3.6/100 Indiana workers experiencing non-fatal workplace injuries or illnesses during 2021.
Manufacturing accidents can create financial struggles along with physical injuries. Without the assistance of an experienced Indianapolis workers’ compensation attorney, you may not obtain the compensation you deserve. The highly rated Indianapolis manufacturing workplace injury lawyers from Sevenish Law Firm explain.
What Are Common Manufacturing Accidents?
According to the National Safety Council, manufacturing workers sustain injuries from several types of accidents or situations, including:
- Contacting or becoming caught in equipment, objects or materials
- Bodily reactions and overexertion
- Slips, trips and falls
- Exposure to harmful environments or substances
- Repetitive motion tasks
Manufacturing employees can also contract illnesses, diseases and viruses at work.
Production workers are most likely to incur injuries, but material movers and transportation employees are also at high risk. The most common injuries are:
- Bruises, tears, sprains and strains
- Cuts, punctures and lacerations
- Fractures
- Amputations
- Multiple traumatic injuries
More extreme traumatic injuries include spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injury and other head injuries. Some accidents can affect your hearing and vision or cause temporary or permanent paralysis.
Workers often sustain damage from a single manufacturing accident. However, you can also develop factory injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome and lower back damage from repeating the same motions daily.
How Can Manufacturing Plants Protect Workers?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has safety regulations tailored to specific manufacturing operations. Plant managers should follow these and other safety recommendations to protect their workers:
- Maintaining all machinery, machine guarding and equipment properly
- Providing personal protective equipment for all employees
- Training employees to do their jobs safely
- Ensuring workers know what to do in emergencies
- Keeping the plant clean and free of debris
Even with every precaution taken, however, accidents can happen.
How Do Manufacturing Accidents Affect Injured Workers?
Every accident and resulting injuries are different. While you can put a band-aid on minor cuts and return to work immediately, other injuries have long-lasting consequences:
- In 2020, injured manufacturing workers averaged 11 days away from work, meaning lost income.
- On-the-job injuries often require medical treatment, including hospital stays or rehabilitation.
- Some workers can’t return to the same job, causing a decreased earning capacity; others cannot work at all.
- These accidents can cause long-lasting trauma and other life-altering problems.
You deserve compensation, but obtaining it from liable insurance companies isn’t always easy unless you have a qualified attorney fighting for your rights.
How Can You Obtain Compensation for Manufacturing Accidents?
If you sustain injuries while you’re at work, you may qualify to receive financial compensation from one or more sources:
- Workers’ compensation benefits: pays medical expenses and a portion of lost wages
- Personal injury lawsuit: may pay many forms of economic and non-economic damages
- Defective products claim: can compensate for multiple damages
- Wrongful death claim: pays damages to eligible survivors
Most Indiana employers must maintain workers’ compensation insurance to cover their employees if workplace illnesses or injuries occur. Although these benefits help injured workers, they don’t fully compensate for all losses. In addition, workers’ comp insurance companies sometimes deny valid claims.
In some cases, the circumstances of an accident qualify you to file other types of third-party claims or lawsuits:
- Violence between workers
- Defective equipment
- Vendors or other non-employees causing accidents
If you sustain factory injuries, your attorney from Sevenish Law Firm will investigate the causes. We will fight to obtain the compensation you deserve from all liable parties.
What Compensation Can You Receive After Manufacturing Accidents?
Accidents and resulting injuries differ, and the compensation you can receive depends on your specific situation. The competent legal team at Sevenish Law Firm will evaluate your claim and tell you how much your case is worth.
Indianapolis workers injured in manufacturing plant accidents may qualify to seek a range of damages.
Economic damages
You will likely incur many expenses directly related to your injury or illness. Economic damages reimburse you for these costs, including:
- Medical bills, rehabilitation and medications
- Lost wages
- Replacement services or in-home care
- Diminished earning capacity
- Property damage
Keep your invoices, bills and receipts for all accident-related expenses. Your lawyer will use them when seeking compensation.
Non-economic damages
Some injuries are intangible, but can adversely impact your life. Non-economic damages compensate for issues such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Losing of ability to enjoy life
- Permanent disfigurement or disability
- Anxiety, depression and PTSD
Workers’ comp doesn’t cover non-economic damages. However, your experienced attorney from Sevenish Law Firm will seek all the damages you qualify to receive.
How Can Sevenish Law Firm Help After Manufacturing Accidents?
Handling the aftermath of workplace injuries alone is often challenging. When you hire Indianapolis’s Sevenish Law Firm to assist with your claim, we will use our 35 years of experience and knowledge of applicable Indiana laws to fight for the best possible recovery on your behalf. We are fierce protectors of the injured and will give you the personal attention you deserve.
If you sustained factory injuries in a manufacturing accident, request your free consultation today. We will assess your case and tell you how we can help. Call Sevenish Law Firm 24/7 at (317) 720-3229, email us or submit our case evaluation request form.
