WORK PLACE ACCIDENT IN CALIFORNIA LEADS TO AMPUTATED FINGERS; LAWYER HELPS GET COMPENSATION
Los Angeles, California. Work place accidents cause hundreds of thousands of injuries ever year, some of them serious. If you have been in a serious accident at work, you should contact a lawyer to learn about your rights. Our client was working in Los Angeles, California on a machine that came down on his hand and amputated three of his fingers. Employers in California usually cannot be sued for negligence by their employees under Workers Compensation for injuries that occur at work. One exception is called the "punch press" exception where the employer negligently removes a guard from the punch press, and this causes a work place injury to an employee.
Our client was working on a machine which did not have a guard. Sometimes there is a dispute as to whether or not a machine in the work place is actually considered a punch press. We hired an expert at our expense to determine if the machine that caused the work place injury was actually a punch press as defined by the California statute. After the expert determined that this was in fact a punch press, we were able to sue both the employer and the manufacturer for product liability and negligence. Even if the punch press originally came with the guard attached, there may be a product defect in the manufacturer's warning label on removing the guard and reinstalling it.
A guard on a punch press is a protection for the worker so that when the machine comes down to press on the metal that the punch press will form, if the worker's hands or fingers are in the way, the guard will hit the hand or finger and the press will stop. Without the guard, the punch press came down on our clients hand and cut off three of his fingers on his dominant hand. These work place accidents can be caused because the employer may have removed the guard negligently in order to have the punch press operate faster.
Although an injured worker can claim worker compensation benefits, that does not cover damages for pain, suffering, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment. If you have been injured in a work place accident please call our law offices at 1-800-ALAWPRO (1-800-252-9776).
