Amputations are among the more serious repercussions of workplace accidents and injuries, as amputations leave people with permanent impairments and limitations. In fact, while the physical impacts of amputations can be a lot to adjust to and deal with, so too can be the psychological effects, as workers learn to accept their loss and mentally adjust to their new limitations.

Taking a closer look at this specific type of workplace injury, this blog series will point out some of the more important facts to know about amputations caused by work accidents.

If you or someone you love has experienced an amputation or any work-related injury and getting benefits ASAP is your primary concern, however, don’t hesitate to contact the experienced Boulder, Colorado workers’ compensation lawyers at the Law Office of Michael P. Dominick for experienced help and the highest quality legal services.

Amputations & Workplace Injuries: Here’s What You Should Know

Fact 1 – Amputations primarily arise from accidents with heavy machinery.

Amputations are one of the most serious types of workplace injuries people can sustain. Here are some important facts about amputations and workplace accidents.

Specifically, regulators at the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) have found that amputations occur most often around the following types of heavy machinery:

• Mechanical power presses
• Power press brakes
• Conveyors (powered and non-powered)
• Roll-forming and roll-bending machines
• Printing presses
• Food slicers, meat grinders and meat-cutting saws
• Drill presses and milling machines
• Trash compactors
• Forklifts.

When such heavy machinery is left improperly safeguarded and/or when workers are not sufficiently trained on how to safely use such machinery, the risk of amputations increases significantly.

Fact 2 – There are some specific machine components that present significant amputation hazards.

Drilling down more on amputation risks in the workplace, the specific components of machinery that generally present the greatest amputation risks to workers include:

• Power transmission devices, which can include gears, belts, chains, couplings, pulleys, connecting rods, etc.
• Moving parts of machinery, which can include components that rotate, move in reverse or reciprocally, etc.
• Points of operation, which refer to the specific site within machines where work is performed.

Here, it’s also noteworthy to point out that machine parts don’t necessarily have to be moving to present amputation risks to workers. In fact, it’s also possible for these risks to persist when machines are jammed up and workers are trying to fix them, when machines are being cleaned or maintained, etc.

For more important information about amputation risks in the workplace, be sure to check out the additional parts of this blog series. They’ll be posted in early April.

Colorado Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at the Law Office of Michael P. Dominick

Have you been in a workplace accident that led to an amputation or any injury? If so, contact the Boulder, Colorado workers’ compensation lawyers at the Law Office of Michael P. Dominick for experienced help securing the maximum possible benefits for your injuries and losses.

To learn more about how our Boulder workers’ compensation attorneys can help you, call us at (303) 447-2644 and schedule an initial consultation with us. You can also email using the contact form at the side of this screen.

From our offices based in Boulder, we provide the highest quality legal services to injured workers throughout the Denver and Boulder metro areas, as well as throughout the state of Colorado.