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Heavy machinery is a fixture of countless industrial workplaces, from manufacturing plants and warehouses to construction sites and food processing facilities. The equipment that keeps these industries running can also cause some of the most severe injuries workers ever experience. When a machine malfunctions, a safety protocol breaks down, or a worker is placed in an unsafe situation, the consequences can be immediate and devastating.
If you have been hurt on the job in an incident involving industrial or commercial equipment, an Orange County machinery accident lawyer at Silberman & Lam can help you understand your rights and pursue the workers’ compensation benefits you are owed. Our workers’ compensation attorneys have extensive experience with these claims and could help you protect your rights to compensation.
The workers most likely to be injured in machinery-related incidents include factory workers, warehouse employees, construction laborers, maintenance technicians, and agricultural workers. These people operate or work near powerful equipment every day, and a single moment of mechanical failure or human error can result in an injury that changes the course of their lives.
Machinery accidents in workplaces are responsible for a wide range of serious injuries, including:
Across industries, workers injured in Orange County machinery accidents often face long recoveries, multiple surgeries, and permanent limitations on what they are able to do, making it all the more essential to get help from a skilled lawyer who can help you pursue workers’ comp benefits.
One factor that makes machinery accident claims more complex than they might initially appear is the question of industrial causation. On construction sites and in large facilities, multiple employers and contractors are often working in the same space. Determining which employer’s insurance policy covers your injury, and to what extent, requires a careful look at the circumstances surrounding the incident. Our Orange County attorneys are well-versed in untangling these situations and identifying the right parties to hold accountable for your machinery accident.
Once the question of industrial causation is sorted out, the focus shifts to securing what you are owed. California’s workers’ compensation system requires that your employer’s insurer cover all medical treatment that is reasonably necessary to cure or relieve the effects of your injury.
For machinery accident victims, that can mean a substantial course of care, with prosthetic fittings and adjustments, occupational therapy to rebuild function, pain management, and follow-up surgeries all being common.
Temporary disability benefits are available if you cannot work during recovery, replacing a portion of your pre-injury wages. Keep in mind that the weekly amount you receive is not always calculated correctly by the insurer, and underpayment is something our attorneys watch for closely.
Permanent disability is a separate and often harder-fought issue. When a machinery accident injury leaves you with lasting physical limitations (a missing limb, compromised grip strength, a permanent back condition, etc.), the rating assigned to your disability will determine what you are paid. Insurers have strong financial incentives to keep that rating as low as possible, and they will often fight your various injuries to limit what body parts are used in calculating that percentage.
Our Orange County attorneys have guided many workers through exactly this kind of resistance and know how to build the medical record needed to showcase how the machinery accident led to your injuries and support a full and accurate disability rating.
A machinery accident at work can upend your life in an instant, and the workers’ compensation process that follows is rarely straightforward. If you or someone you care about has been hurt on the job, an experienced Orange County machinery accident lawyer at Silberman & Lam is ready to help. Just contact our office to request your free case evaluation, where you can get answers to your questions and discuss next steps.