Industrial Accident Injuries: More than Worker’s Compensation May Be Available

Despite the efforts of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), workplace hazards and industrial accident injuries are still commonplace in workplaces across America. They are most prevalent in industrial settings, such as construction sites, refineries and manufacturing plants. Hazards are an inherent part of working an industrial job — unless people take action to prevent them. When the people responsible for industrial sites fail to take appropriate steps to prevent hazards, people get hurt, and, because of the nature of industrial settings, they often get hurt badly.

Despite the severity of injuries and extensive personal damages that commonly result from industrial workplace accidents, most injured workers believe that their only recourse for such injuries is to file a Worker’s Compensation claim and accept whatever the state Worker’s Compensation Administration will give them in the way of benefits. Unfortunately, the benefits provided by Worker’s Compensation rarely do justice to the severe injuries suffered in an industrial accident.

While it is true that Worker’s Compensation law prohibits employees from suing their employer for work-related injuries, when an accident occurs in an industrial workplace, there are often other ways to recover damages for accident-related injuries that are often overlooked by injured workers. Keep reading below to find out how an industrial accident lawyer can help injured industrial workers recover damages in often overlooked places.

Preventable Industrial Accident Injuries 

Preventable accidents that are common to industrial sites include:

• Falls

• Scaffolding accidents

• Forklift accidents

• Falling objects or flying debris

• Fires and Explosions

• Toxic chemical exposure

• Electrocution

• Construction accidents

• Chemical or gas leaks

• Collapse of structures or supports

• Malfunctioning equipment

• Misuse of equipment (often due to lack of training)

• Inhalation of toxic gases, vapors or chemicals

• Inadequate emergency response systems

• Inadequate safety features

• Asbestos exposure

• Defective equipment or tools

Types of Injuries that commonly arise from industrial accidents include:

• Crushing injuries

• Head or brain injuries

• Amputation

• Eye injuries

• Back and Neck injuries

• Blunt force trauma (being struck)

• Blood disorders

• Cancer, especially mesothelioma

• Lung disease

• Physical impairment

• Psychological impairment

Why Injured Industrial Workers Need More than Worker’s Comp Benefits for Industrial Accident Injuries

Worker’s Compensation provides a vital function for injured industrial workers by  paying medical costs related to injuries and compensating for lost wages during recovery without having to prove the employer was negligent. But Worker’s Compensation has limitations. In Michigan, compensation for lost wages is capped at 80% of a worker’s after-tax weekly wage or 90% of the state average weekly wage, whichever is LOWER! While medical coverage is unlimited in Michigan, the worker must use a medical care provided by the employer for the first 10 days. Funding for vocational rehabilitation for permanently disabled workers is available for only 2 years; if rehabilitation or learning new skill sets and certifications takes longer than two years, the worker is on their own. Additionally, and perhaps most significantly, Worker’s Compensation does not compensate injured workers for their pain and suffering and other emotional and non-economic damages. The value of these sorts of damages can be considerable.

Michigan’s Worker’s Compensation laws also prohibit an employee from suing an employer for the damages not covered by Worker’s Compensation unless the employer’s intentional or egregious actions led to the injury or the employer didn’t carry Worker’s Compensation insurance (in which case there will be no benefits from Worker’s Compensation and the employee must bring a lawsuit to recover all damages). However, Worker’s Compensation does not prohibit injured workers from bringing lawsuits against other parties that may be liable in some way for the injuries that occurred. This is particularly advantageous for industrial workers as industrial sites often have multiple companies working side by side as contractors, suppliers, transporters, etc. Here are some ways this can play out for injured industrial workers:

• Someone injured by a tool or machine while using it correctly and for its intended purpose could bring a products liability lawsuit against the manufacturer

• Someone injured by a toxic substance could sue the manufacturer of the substance or the company that supplied it or the company that manufactured a faulty container for the substance

• Someone who fell off a scaffold because safety features were not in place could sue the scaffold manufacturer or the company that supplied it

Your Personal Injury and Industrial Accidents Lawyer Can Help You Find the Benefits and Recovery of Damages You Need

Finding compensation for damages beyond Worker’s Compensation benefits is challenging. The case must be investigated thoroughly and no small amount of creativity applied to identify parties other than the employer who may have contributed to and be liable for an industrial worker’s injuries. An experienced lawyer who is familiar with industrial accident injuries and finding sources of compensation for them can help an injured worker identify potentially liable parties.

In Michigan, the personal injury and industrial accident lawyers at Sachs Waldman, P.C., can review your case, identify potentially liable parties, and take action on a course to recover the damages you suffer. Our experienced attorneys can also assist with filing injury claims through the state Worker’s Compensation program and hold employers and insurance companies accountable for their responsibilities. Call our Detroit personal injury attorneys’ office at 1-800-638-6722 to schedule a free consultation.