Camden County Workplace Machinery Injury Lawyer

Camden County Workers Compensation: Machinery-Related Accidents

Many jobs rely on specialized machinery to get the work done. Machines can do work difficult or impossible for humans to complete by hand.

To do this work, machines contain many fast-moving, durable parts. These moving parts can cause severe injury to workers. Crushed fingers and hands, amputations, burns, and other injuries can all result from a machinery-related accident.

Workers’ compensation insurance protects employees injured on the job in New Jersey. If you live or work in Camden County and you’re injured on the job, talk to a workers’ compensation lawyer today to learn more about how the law applies to your case.

What To Know About Machinery-Related Accidents

Machinery-related accidents are among the top causes of death at work. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 12 people died in New Jersey after contact with workplace objects or equipment in 2020. These deaths represented 15 percent of all fatal work injuries in New Jersey that year. The “contact with objects and equipment” category includes injuries from machine-related accidents.

The most severe workplace injuries end in death. Workers may also be severely injured on the job and survive. In 2019, 69,000 workers were injured on the job in New Jersey. The state also estimates that 421 people were hospitalized for severe traumatic injuries from work in 2015. Machinery-related accidents are often a source of severe traumatic injury.

Injuries That You Can Sustain On The Job

The first thing to do if you’re injured on the job in Camden County is to seek medical help. Tell the doctor about your injury and what caused it, and follow the doctor’s instructions.

In an emergency, you can seek the medical care you need without your employer’s authorization. If your injury isn’t an emergency, you’ll need to go to the hospital or doctor’s office your employer chooses. The hospital or clinic will also need information about your employer and workers’ compensation insurance so they can bill correctly.

As soon as you can, tell your employer what happened. You must notify your employer within ninety days.

New Jersey law doesn’t require you to notify your employer in writing, but writing down what happened can be helpful. Include the date and time of the injury, a description of what happened, and the name of the person receiving the report. Keep a copy for yourself. You can give this notice to your boss, foreman, supervisor, or anyone in authority at your workplace.

After you give notice, your employer has twenty-one days to file a First Report of Injury with the New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation.

Machinery Injuries in Camden County and Your Workers’ Compensation Rights Infographic

How A Workers’ Compensation Claim Can Help You

Workers’ compensation in New Jersey benefits employees who are injured on the job. These benefits may include the following:

• Medical benefits are available to you if you have been seriously injured.
• Permanent total benefits if your injury permanently prevents you from working.
• Temporary total benefits if you take time off to recover to full health after an injury.
• Permanent partial benefits if your injury permanently affects your ability to work and complete daily tasks compared to before your accident.

For workers who lose their lives in a workplace accident, workers’ compensation also pays death benefits to surviving family members.

Workers’ compensation is a form of “no-fault” insurance. An injured employee will receive benefits after an on-the-job injury, no matter who was at fault for that injury.

When you accept workers’ compensation benefits, you give up the right to sue your employer unless your injury resulted from an employer’s intentional act. If the machine that injured you was defective, you might be able to seek compensation from the machine’s manufacturer or distributor. Talk to an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer to learn more about how these laws apply in your situation.

Contact Petrillo & Goldberg To Discuss the Next Steps

Workers’ compensation exists to help workers who are injured on the job. Employers can turn to their workers’ compensation insurer to provide a lawyer when an injury happens. Injured workers and their families can seek legal help, too. An experienced workplace injury lawyer can help you fight for your deserved compensation.

If you or a family member have suffered a machinery-related injury, talk to the legal team at Petrillo & Goldberg today. We have experience representing injured Camden County residents and workers. We’ll help you understand how the law applies to your case so that you can make the best decision for yourself and your family.