Memphis personal injury law blog

Workers nationwide, including Tennessee, risk losing body parts each year. In unsafe work environments, unprotected working parts of equipment and machines cause compression or crushing injuries. Hands, feet, fingers and other body parts can also be struck by or caught between objects. The most common amputations are reported to be fingertips.

As a part of employers' responsibility to provide safe workplaces, safeguards must be installed to prevent contact with moving parts. Among others, potential amputation hazards include power presses, conveyors, printing presses, meat grinders, food slicers, band saws, table and portable saws, grinders, and shears. Safeguards must be secure, and bypassing or tampering with the guards must not be allowed. Workers must receive adequate safety training related to the dangers of avoiding safety devices and taking short cuts that could lead to catastrophic injuries.

When you place a parent or another elderly loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility, you likely do so after acknowledging that he or she needs extra assistance when it comes to getting around and otherwise caring for his or herself. While deciding to move a loved one into a care facility is often an extremely difficult one, it can be easier on the entire family when you know your loved one will receive a high level of care in the residence you select.

Unfortunately, not all American nursing home residents receive the level of care they deserve, and numerous factors contribute to this. In many cases, nursing homes lack adequate nurses or other staff members, which can make it extremely difficult for your loved one to receive the mobility and other assistance he or she needs. Industrial Safety & Hygiene News reports that falls happen at alarming rates in many nursing home environments, with the average 100-bed nursing home reporting between 100 and 200 resident falls every year.

It is not unusual for construction projects in Tennessee to have strict deadlines. Unfortunately, deadlines often put pressure on workers to take shortcuts and rush to get jobs done faster. That could lead to preventable construction site injuries. Scaffolds are structures that are often hastily erected without the necessary compliance with the safety standards prescribed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Falls are the most significant scaffold related hazards, and prevention starts with proper safety training. Before getting on a scaffold, it is crucial to inspect the structure and identify safety hazards, which must then be addressed before allowing workers on the structure. The safety checks should be repeated throughout the project because weather conditions and ground movement can compromise the stability of the scaffold.

Every year, thousands of teenagers nationwide, including Tennessee, secure jobs to earn some money during the summer break. Those who enter the construction industry as inexperienced rookies might not receive adequate safety training -- often with devastating consequences. Inadequate safety protocols might have led to a recent construction accident that caused the death of a 15-year-old roof worker.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration mandates that employers must protect all employees, including temporary and teen workers, against known hazards. Sadly, this law appears to have been disregarded at a construction site in a neighboring state. Reportedly, the young worker was working on a roof when an unsupported section collapsed and caused him to fall approximately 40 feet.