Pennsylvania Industrial Accident Attorneys

When Occupational Accidents Happen in An Industrial Setting

According to the most recent United States Department of Labor — Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) statistics, 240 people died due to occupational injuries in one year in Pennsylvania.

These occupational injuries resulted from many different types of industrial accidents including:

• Contact with objects and equipment
• Falls
• Exposure to harmful substances or environments
• Transportation accidents
• Fires
• Explosions
• Assaults and violent acts

If your life has been changed by an industrial accident, the attorneys at Caroselli, Beachler & Coleman, L.L.C., can help you understand your options. Located in Pittsburgh, our attorneys bring a broad spectrum of legal experience and knowledge to our personal injury practice.

If your industrial accident is a workers’ compensation issue, we will pursue all of the rights you may have. We may also pursue other options on your behalf as well. These include Social Security Disability, product liability or premises liability lawsuits.

Lawyers at our Pennsylvania law firm represent the victims of industrial accidents from many different industries, including the construction industry and different manufacturing plants such as steel plants, aluminum plants, atomic power plants, glass plants and chemical plants. Our clients include asbestos workers, automobile mechanics, electricians, foundry workers, carpenters and iron workers, and many others.

Common Causes of Industrial Accidents

There are a number of reasons why industrial accidents occur, these include:

• Poor Lighting: Limited visibility in manufacturing plants, underground mines, and other industrial settings can cause workers to slip and fall and have other mishaps because they cannot adequately see what they are doing.

• Indoor Climate: The climate is very important within industrial workplaces. If the temperature is too hot, workers can become exhausted and fatigued, and equipment can get overheated. If the temperature is too cold, workers can end up with frostbite or hypothermia.

• Pollution: In industrial workplaces where there is poor ventilation and/or air pollution, breathing difficulties and resulting illnesses can occur. This is a big problem especially with underground mines. Sound pollution is another issue – some industrial settings are overly noisy, which can cause injury to a worker’s hearing.

• Power Failure: When there is a total or partial power failure in an industrial workplace, it can cause a number of hazards, including problems with the equipment, that can lead to injury. It is a good practice for these workplaces to operate with backup generators to help avoid this hazard.

• Broken or Faulty Machinery: Most industrial workplaces utilize a lot of different types of equipment and machinery. But if these machines get damaged or if they have inherent defects, they can malfunction and cause injuries to workers.

• Aged/Poorly Maintained Machinery: In some cases, the company has equipment and machinery on hand that is getting old and/or it has not been properly maintained. Like with defective or damaged machinery, aged or poorly maintained machinery is also more likely to malfunction and injure those who are using it.

• Inadequate Training: In some industries, there are worker shortages. This can result in taking shortcuts during the hiring and training processes. Poorly skilled and/or inadequately trained workers are more prone to make mistakes that can cause injury to themselves and others.

• Failure to Follow Safety Procedures: Many industries are regulated by government agencies such as OSHA. But in many workplaces, there are routine OSHA violations that heighten the chances of an industrial accident.

• Poor Space Management: In industrial settings, being well organized is extremely important not only to ensure an efficient operation, but to protect the safety of workers. Poorly managed space can lead to more workplace accidents.

Industrial accidents can result in a number of different types of injuries, such as:

• Severe burn injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
• Neck and back injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Fractures/broken bones
• Crush injuries/amputations
• Traumatic eye and ear injuries

Some industrial injuries can be permanent and debilitating and in the worst cases, fatal. Moderate to severe injuries can involve a lengthy recovery time, which can mean being out of work for a while. This can put a lot of stress on injury victims and their families.

Legal Options for Industrial Accident Victims in Pennsylvania

For workers who get injured in an industrial accident, workers’ compensation is usually their first legal recourse. Workers’ comp provides reimbursements for many of the economic losses that the worker suffers, including:

• Reasonable and necessary medical costs.
• A percentage of lost earnings.
• Rehabilitation and retraining costs if the worker cannot return to his/her old job after the injury.
• Permanent disability benefits.
• Specific loss benefits (e.g., scarring and disfigurement, losing a body part, etc.)
• Death benefits to eligible surviving beneficiaries of workers who are killed in workplace accidents.

The good thing about workers’ compensation is that it is a “no-fault” program, meaning that you do not have to prove negligence on the part of your employer or coworker in order to qualify for benefits. The workers’ comp claims process is far more complicated than it should be, however, and insurance companies routinely deny valid claims. Our lawyers will work closely with you to help ensure that your claim is approved and that you receive the level of benefits you are entitled to.

The workers’ compensation program provides no-fault coverage to injured employees, but there is a downside. In general, employers who have workers’ comp coverage cannot be sued by their employees, which means you cannot go after them for noneconomic damages such as pain-and-suffering, psychological distress, and diminished quality of life.

There are some cases, however, in which an outside party (other than your employer or a co-worker) may be responsible for the industrial accident that caused your injury. When this is the case, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit directly against the at-fault party.

Examples of outside parties that could be responsible for an industrial accident and subsequent injuries include:

• Third party subcontractors that are performing work at the industrial job site.
• Drivers of other vehicles that cause collisions with industrial workers.
• Designers, manufacturers, or suppliers of faulty or dangerous products that cause an industrial accident.

In addition to helping you with your workers’ compensation claim, our attorneys will thoroughly investigate the circumstances of your case to determine if there are any outside parties that could be held liable. And if you are eligible for Social Security Disability benefits, we will help you get qualified for those as well.

Contact Us About Your Potential Case

Regardless of your occupation, our law firm strives to be a dependable resource for the information you need regarding industrial accidents, and we welcome you to contact one of our attorneys anytime to discuss your potential case.

Contact Caroselli, Beachler & Coleman, L.L.C., by calling us at 412-391-9860 in Pittsburgh or Western Pennsylvania, or toll free at 866-466-5789. You may also complete our online contact form. Initial consultations are free and confidential.