Defective Machinery

New York Defective Machine Lawyer

Each year, thousands of citations are issued for dangerous machinery. Dangerous and defective machines cause severe, and sometimes fatal, workplace injuries including amputations, crushed limbs and blindness. If a loved one has been injured or killed because of a defective machine, talk to a product liability attorney at the Bonina & Bonina law firm in Brooklyn, New York.

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Machines are often dangerous because they have unguarded moving parts. Dangerous machine parts that present hazards to workers include turning shafts, shafts with pins or protrusions, fly wheels, pulleys, belts, chains, cranks and gears. Points of operation can also be hazardous, such as cutting, shaping, boiling or forming of stock points where work is performed.

Manufacturers can design out hazards or provide adequate instructions to installers as to how they can guard against hazards. When the manufacturer fails to provide a safe machine, the manufacturer should be held responsible for the injuries and deaths that result. Our lawyers have experience in filing lawsuits over dangerous machinery and facing manufacturers in court:

• Rotating motion hazards: Rotating shafts can be safeguarded by having guarding that prevents inadvertent contact. Even slowly rotating shafts can grip clothing and lead to severe injuries, including amputations. Exposed and unguarded nip points frequently cause crushing and degloving injuries to workers. Nip points or pinch points pose a danger from rotating or reciprocating parts. When machine parts move toward each other, or one part moves past a stationary object, a nip point is present. Nip points also occur where belts or chains approach pulleys or gears, or where rotating parts approach stationary components. Worker injuries occur most commonly when a worker’s hand or arm is caught between or drawn into the nip point and crushed, mangled or severed.
• Cutting hazards/mechanical hazards: Cutting actions may involve rotating, reciprocating or transverse motion. The danger of cutting action exists at the point of operation where finger, arm or body injuries are close to the machine. Flying chips or scrap material can also strike the head, particularly in the eye area. Dangerous cutting hazards exist at the point of operation in cutting wood, metal or other materials.
• Non-mechanical machinery hazards: Electrical hazards caused by frayed, exposed or old wiring can subject workers to electrical shock or electrocution. Some jobs may require protective equipment. Hard hats or eye protection may be required for risks ranging from falling objects to material chips or pieces that become airborne during cutting or fabricating operations. Masks may be necessary to prevent inhalation of toxic materials.

Personal protective equipment is the employer’s responsibility, but in certain instances a general contractor or owner can be held responsible for providing or failing to provide personal protective equipment.

Please see our page on construction accidents.

From our offices across from the courthouse in downtown Brooklyn, we are ready to hear the story of your injury, explain your options, and help you decide what actions you should take. The consultation is free. At Bonina & Bonina, we come to work every day believing that there should be equal justice for all.

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