The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that contact injuries are among the most pervasive types of harm that workers suffer across the country. A contact injury is a fairly broad concept involving a workplace injury sustained in any contact with an object or machinery on the job. A subset of these types of workplace accidents involves a contact injury that results in a crushing injury. We discussed a fatal crushing injury last week that involved a form of compactor.
Not all injuries involving a crushing blow are fatal. But a crushed bone can be a serious form of injury for a worker. A person can suffer a crush injury whenever any body part is subjected to sufficient force or pressure from an external source.
Often, machinery or hard falling objects can be the source of a crushing blow that compresses the body part. Last week, a worker at a North Sacramento car wash suffered a crushing injury when her foot got caught in a conveyor at the car wash, according to a Sacramento Fire Department spokesperson.
A fire battalion chief says that it appears that the woman may have tripped or took a wrong step in some fashion — her foot was caught in a conveyor system at the car wash. Firefighters were the first to respond and found the woman with her foot still caught in the machinery.
The first responders were able to free the woman from the conveyor. A moving roller on the system caught her foot and forced her extremity forward against a steel rail.
Authorities say that the woman suffered significant injury. Any type of crushing blow may result in severe injuries that can be debilitating. A fire department spokesperson says that authorities do not know what long-term consequences may result from the injury.
Crushed bones, or other crushed parts of the musculoskeletal system, can be significant injuries requiring extensive medical and rehabilitation services. Workers who have suffered an on-the job injury may wish to seek the assistance of a California workers’ compensation lawyer for assistance in seeking benefits.
Source: News 10, “Worker’s foot crushed by car wash conveyor,” July 16, 2013
