Defective Equipment Accident or Injury
A worker has the right to expect safe and properly functioning equipment and tools when he or she arrives to work every morning. Unfortunately, thousands of workers every year are injured from equipment that is malfunctioning, defective, or poorly designed.
Responsibility of the Employer
It is the duty of every employer to provide safe, properly functioning, and well-maintained equipment and tools for workers. This means that:
- The equipment should be the right kind of equipment for the activity
- The equipment should be of high quality and should be manufactured by a respected manufacturer
- The equipment must be put through periodic maintenance checks to ensure that any safety defects are identified
- Identified safety defects must be repaired immediately
- Any equipment that is due for repairs must be set aside and taken out of use until repairs are completed
- Workers must be trained in the safe and effective handling of equipment
- Workers must also be trained about any precautions that must be used while handling tools
- If the equipment has dangerous parts that could pose an injury hazard to the worker, the worker must be given the appropriate protective gear
Liability for Defective Equipment
Any worker who has suffered an injury in the workplace is automatically eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. However, if you have been injured from the use of a defective piece of equipment or malfunctioning hand tool, then you may have access to compensation from another source.
In case of injuries related to defective equipment, a worker may not only be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, but also benefits from legal claims against responsible third parties. For example, compensation can also be obtained in a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer of the equipment, the distributor of the product, or other related parties.
Peter Ventura is a Massachusetts workplace injury lawyer dedicated to representing injured workers in the Massachusetts area and helping them recover compensation for their injuries.