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My husband works at a printing press in New Jersey and was cleaning the rollers when his arm got pulled in the rollers. He crushed his arm and needs several surgeries to restore his arm. His friends tell me there was no lockout/tagout procedure and that we should sue his company. What does that mean?

Published: 7-16-12

A lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedure standard is intended to protect workers performing service or maintenance on machinery from an unexpected startup of the machinery or release of stored energy in the equipment. In other words, the energy source needs to be shut off before the workers service or maintain the machine to ensure that the machine will not start unexpectedly while the worker is working on the machine.

In your husband's situation, if a lockout/tagout procedure was not in place, it is possible that the machine unexpectedly turned on while he was cleaning the roller. If that is the situation, his employer violated OSHA safety standards which caused his crush injury.

Though New Jersey workers are generally barred from suing their employers if they were injured at work under the Worker's Compensation Act, there are situations when an employee can sue his employer if an employer commits an intentional act, knowing that the consequences of the act are substantially certain to result in harm to workers.

Therefore, it is important that you speak to an experienced New Jersey industrial machinery accident lawyer about your husband's case to see if he can sue his employer. Even if he cannot sue his employer, he may have a case against the manufacturer of the machine. Only an experienced lawyer who specializes in industrial machinery accidents can evaluate your husband's case and identify the responsible parties.

We have helped many workers who were injured by industrial machines. You can email or call us at 877.944.8396 for a free case evaluation.

Daniel J. O'Brien and White and Williams serve clients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including the following areas: Philadelphia, Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, Lehigh County, Luzerne County, Cherry Hill, Trenton, Camden, Morris County, Essex County, Cape May County, Ocean County, Atlantic County, Ocean City.

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