California Machinery Lock Out Lawyers

Machinery lockout is the construction-industry term for properly shutting down equipment -- unplugging electrical sources, blocking moving parts that could hurt someone and taking other steps to prevent an accident from an hazardous energy source that could have been stopped. When a worker climbs onto or into potentially hazardous equipment, he or she should always ensure that it has come to a complete stop, disconnect it from any power source and block all moving parts that they can block. A study by the U.S. Department of Labor found that fully half of workers who turned off equipment and then sustained a machinery lockout accident were injured when well-meaning colleagues turned the equipment back on.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that 120 workers are killed annually and 50,000 are injured in machinery lockout accidents. An estimated 3 million U.S. workers are most commonly exposed to these types of injuries during routine maintenance, repairs, cleaning and unjamming of equipment. Under California's Safety Order 3314 and OSHA regulations, employers are legally required to develop procedures to control the hazardous energy in machinery during maintenance. Employees must be trained in these procedures and provided with the equipment that they need to do their jobs safely. There are special procedures for certain machines; workers should use only the correct types of tags and procedures for the equipment they're using.

Accidents involving machines that haven't been properly locked out, blocked out or tagged out cause people to die or suffer serious, permanent disabilities, including amputation and nerve damage. If you or someone you love has been hurt in a machinery lockout accident caused by other people's carelessness, you should contact Gillin, Jacobson, Ellis & Larsen immediately. Our Northern California construction accident attorneys have been winning lawsuits for more than 30 years; we have extensive experience in construction accident law and have won hundreds of millions for injured clients. And because we know money is tight after a workplace accident, we always offer free case evaluations with no further obligation on your part. To speak to Gillin, Jacobson, Ellis & Larsen today, call us at 1-866-218-3776.

Local Offices for client meetings and depositions: Alameda, Antioch, Berkeley, Concord, Fairfield, Fremont, Fresno, Hayward, Oakland, Pleasanton, Richmond, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Monica, Santa Rosa and Walnut Creek.

California Machinery Lock Out Lawyers Disclaimer: The machinery lock out, machinery tag out, machinery accident, construction accident, construction site accident, construction worker injury, personal injury, and/or other California legal information offered herein by Gillin, Jacobson, Ellis & Larsen, is not formal legal advice, nor is it the formation of an attorney client relationship. In order for our firm to be considered your attorney there must be a signed agreement between the client and the firm. Any results set forth herein are based solely upon the circumstances of that particular case and offer no promise or guarantee on the outcome of any other case. This site is not intended to solicit clients outside the State of California, although this firm does work with local counsel in other states.

©2007 Gillin, Jacobson, Ellis & Larsen - Northern California Machinery Lock Out lawyers and Machinery Accident attorneys. All rights reserved.

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