While there are many safety regulations designed to protect employees at industrial work sites in Georgia, many employees are injured by defective equipment used in industrial plants. Although these industrial tools may create a risk of serious injury or wrongful death, they also may be essential to performing one’s job responsibilities.
If you are injured in an industrial setting by a defective work tool, you will typically look to your employer’s worker’s compensation insurance first as a source of recovery for your injuries.
However, workplace injuries caused by dangerous equipment or defective work tools are often the result of design or manufacturing defects in the equipment or power tool. When your injuries are caused by a product defect in industrial equipment or a work tool, you may have a right to file a product liability claim or lawsuit against the company that designed, manufactured, sold or marketed the industrial equipment, in addition to filing your workers’ compensation claim.
When a workplace accident occurs that involves a defective piece of industrial equipment for which you would like to bring a products liability claim against the manufacturer, distributor or seller of the equipment, it can be critical and the best practice is for the industrial equipment to be preserved and not repaired until it can be inspected by a qualified engineer or other expert. If the piece of industrial equipment or industrial work tool is altered or fixed, it can mean the loss of essential evidence which might seriously compromise your product liability claim. Workplace injuries involving dangerous and defective industrial equipment are complex lawsuits that necessitate the assistance of an experienced personal injury lawyer who works carefully with experts to show the defect in the product and understands the relationship between the product liability lawsuit and the worker’s compensation claim.
While Montlick and Associates has handled many industrial accident claims based during our 28 years representing injured industrial employees. Some examples of defects in industrial work tools and equipment include the following:
Defective Nail Guns: A nail gun can propel a nail at rates of 1,400 feet per second with overwhelming force. While there are a variety of nail gun designs, some manufacturers emphasize speed and power over safety features. Nail guns can be powered differently. Some by electromagnetism and others by gases or explosive charges, but pneumatic nail guns use compressed air to secure nails within various materials. Many nail gun manufacturers typically choose a rapid-fire design that shoot anytime both the trigger and nose of the gun are pressed down. A safer design employs a two-step process that requires the user to push down on the nose of the nail gun before squeezing the trigger. Although this design offers a safeguard against accidental discharge, many companies choose the less safe automatic design.
Punch Presses: Unguarded pinch points and defects in the activation system for the ram can cause serious workplace injuries. Frequently punch presses are modified or repaired with improper parts. These industrial work machines also are frequently altered to increase productivity despite an increased injury of workplace injuries.
These are just a couple examples of industrial equipment that can cause serious injury or even wrongful death. If you or your loved one has been injured or killed by a defective industrial tool, the experienced defective product attorneys at Montlick and Associates can examine your accident to determine your rights to financial compensation. The dedicated and committed Georgia product liability lawyers at Montlick and Associates have been representing personal injury victims in Atlanta and throughout Georgia for over 39 years.
We are available to assist clients throughout all of Georgia including, but not limited to, Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Dalton, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Valdosta, Warner Robins and all smaller and rural towns in the state. Call us today for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333), or visit us on the web at www.montlick.com. No matter where you are, we are just a phone call away and we will even come to you.
