A 44-year-old man suffered serious injuries after being entrapped in a commercial landscaping machine in Orangeburg. According to a News12 report, the incident occurred the morning of Sept. 23 at a recycling company off Route 303. Officials say the machine is used to grind mulch. Details regarding how the victim became entrapped are not available. The report states that the Department of Environmental Management and Engineering building is located adjacent to where the incident occurred.
The department staff said two people working inside ran to help with tools and that they were instrumental in saving the worker’s life. The man was transported to Westchester Medical Center. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating this workplace accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured worker. We wish him the very best for a quick and full recovery.
Workplace Injuries Involving Entrapment
Entrapment injuries are a significant workplace hazard, especially in industries such as landscaping where heavy machinery and powered equipment are commonly used. Entrapment occurs when a worker’s body part becomes caught, crushed or pulled into moving parts of tools or machines. In landscaping, this risk is heightened with equipment such as lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, wood chippers, and skid-steer loaders, etc. These machines often have sharp blades, rotating parts, or high-powered mechanisms that can cause severe injuries in seconds.
Common entrapment injuries in landscaping include crushed hands or fingers, amputations, lacerations, and fractures. For example, workers can be pulled into a wood chipper if clothing or gloves get caught or suffer hand injuries from reaching into a mower or trimmer before the blades have fully stopped. Loose clothing, jewelry and a lack of machine guards increase the risk.
Prevention is critical. All equipment must have proper safety guards and emergency shut-off switches. Workers should receive training on safe operating procedures, wear snug-fitting protective clothing and never bypass safety features. Regular maintenance of landscaping equipment also helps reduce hazards.
How Workplace Injuries Affect Victims
Serious workplace injuries can have lasting physical, emotional and financial impacts on workers. Physically, injuries such as fractures, amputations or severe back strains may limit mobility and reduce a person’s ability to perform daily tasks. In many cases, workers are unable to return to their previous job and some may even experience permanent disability. Recovery often requires extensive medical treatment, rehabilitation and long-term pain management, which can be both exhausting and stressful.
Beyond the physical effects, serious injuries also affect mental health. Workers may struggle with anxiety, depression or loss of confidence after an accident. Financial stress adds to the burden, as medical bills accumulate and lost wages reduce household income. Families often share this strain, especially if the injured worker was the breadwinner. Overall, the impact of serious workplace injuries extends far beyond the individual as they influence quality of life, career opportunities and a family’s overall stability.
Compensation for Injured Workers
An injured worker in New York City may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, regardless of who was at fault for the accident. Workers’ compensation provides medical treatment, some wage replacement, and other benefits to employees who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses.
In addition, workers may also be able to file a third-party claim against a negligent (careless) party other than the employer or co-employees for significant monetary damages and have two sources of compensation available for their losses. Examples of third parties include, but are not limited to, general contractors, construction companies, sub-contractors, building owners, managing agents, drivers of other vehicles, etc. In cases where a worker dies from injuries suffered on the job, surviving family members may seek death benefits through workers’ compensation and/or file a wrongful death claim against a third party who may be held liable for the fatal incident.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in a workplace accident, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. For over 54 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses.
Our law firm recovered $3,375,576 for a construction worker (an undocumented immigrant) who was injured on the job — one of the highest construction case settlements in New York that year. Our law firm also recovered $3,000,000 for a man who fell and suffered two broken legs when he walked into an open elevator shaft. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: https://longisland.news12.com/spring-valley-man-entrapped-in-landscaping-machine-seriously-injured