Some of the most common cases we see at The Segal Law Firm are workplace injury cases. Handling and storing materials can present many worker hazards that can cause catastrophic injuries.
Manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and workplaces with mixed operating functions present special hazards for workers. Operations in handling and storing materials often involve hoisting tons of product with crane, driving loaded trucks, operating stacked forklifts and manually stacking and carrying drums, barrels and blocks. The improper handling and storage of materials results in injuries and fatalities.
Hazards include the following:
- Being caught in pinch points
- Being struck by falling material
- Being hit by mobile equipment
Employers and management have a duty to evaluate the work environment and apply general and specific safety principles and training in order to reduce workplace accidents.
Segal Law Experience
The lawyers at The Segal Law Firm successfully represented a man who was severely and permanently injured at his workplace in a plant. The worker was a train operator who had the job of making rolling train transfers of product and materials from one part of the plant to others. The area where he was working was highly congested with machinery operating, processing taking place, and material being sorted and stored. There were pedestrians, forklift traffic, truck traffic, train traffic and crane operations in the area. There was extremely poor industrial housekeeping with materials unstably stacked and pedestrian aisles that were not clear and improperly marked. Along the train truck there was insufficient clearance due to material.
In this hazardous environment, our client was attempting to do his assigned task of hooking up train cars loaded with sections of metal weighing several tons extending over the sides of the cars. During the process of hooking up the cars, material on the train contacted stacked material that was not supposed to be in the area, creating a domino effect with other improperly stacked heavy material which then slid. Our client’s legs were pinned and crushed between a pallet of scrap material and containers weighing approximately two hundred pounds. A crane was necessary to remove the material and free the trainman. His lower legs, feet and ankles were severely crushed requiring multiple surgeries, extensive grafting, in-patient rehabilitation services and prolonged physical therapy. He was permanently disabled.
The investigation and discovery conducted by The Segal Law Firm lawyers found longstanding violations of internal safety standards as well as general industry standards and of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. The Segal Law Firm lawyers were successful at combating a defense that sought to blame the employee for injuries that happened because management failed to apply basic safety solutions to a hazardous work environment. The case was successfully resolved just before trial.
Would you like to know more? Contact The Segal Law Firm today.