Lathes are recognised as a clear and obvious danger in the workplace – so much so that there are workplace regulations that specifically name lathes in the legislation.
You should never be subjected to an injury from a dangerous part of a lathe, and if you are, it is likely that you may have a successful claim for personal injury compensation.
We’ll take a look at the regulations so you can get a better idea as to whether you may have a successful claim for compensation.
The Law
(1) Every employer shall ensure that measures are taken in accordance with paragraph (2) which are effective-
(a)to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery or to any rotating stock-bar; or
(b)to stop the movement of any dangerous part of machinery or rotating stock-bar before any part of a person enters a danger zone.
The regulations go on to confirm that a “stock-bar” means any part of a stock-bar which projects beyond the head-stock of a lathe.
In order to uphold this important duty your employer is responsible for several things such as:
- Having suitable and effective fixed guards to enclose dangerous parts and stock bars
- Providing information, instruction, training and supervision
- Having emergency stop controls that are accessible
- Having suitable isolation from power sources where access to dangerous parts is required (for maintenance, for example)
In general, work equipment must be suitable and must be in a state of good working order and repair – so where you are injured because the equipment is defective or unsuitable, you can make a claim for this.
Although the regulations quoted above are fairly self explanatory, in general, you can have very good prospects of success for a claim where you are injured by your hand getting caught in a moving part of a lathe. The regulations should prevent this and educate employees of the risks involved. You should definitely contact us if you have suffered an injury in this way.
As a firm of expert work accident lawyers, trust us when we say that we know how bad them injuries from these sorts of accidents can be. Significant crushing injuries; fractures; tendon damage; nerve damage; and when it comes to your hand, the consequences both long and short term could be significant.
If you need help just call our claims team on 0800 634 7575 today.
