According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, there are four categories of workplace accidents that cause most workplace fatalities, one of which is getting trapped in or between objects or equipment. While many lives are lost in these types of accidents, a survivor may find him or herself with a permanent disability. One such an accident tore off the arm of a Colorado man on a recent Wednesday morning.
Reportedly, the industrial accident occurred at a north Loveland UPS Customer Center. Responders included emergency medical services and rescuers from the fire department. Upon arrival, they learned that a worker’s arm became trapped in the workings of a conveyor belt. He was unable to remove his arm before it became completely detached from his body.
Co-workers decided to rush the man to the hospital in a private vehicle, but when the emergency workers arrived, they learned that the car was traveling in the wrong direction. They rushed to meet the car on the highway, transferred the patient to the ambulance and transported him to the hospital. In the meantime, firefighters worked on freeing the man’s arm from the conveyor belt, then rushing it to the hospital, hoping that the skills of the medical professionals would allow them to reunite the man and his arm.
The medical expenses after such a traumatic injury will naturally be overwhelming, as will the prospect of living and providing for a family with only one arm. The outcome of the surgery is unknown, but this man will at least have the financial assistance that is typically provided by the Colorado workers’ compensation insurance system. Typically, medical expenses and lost income are covered, and additional benefits are based upon the permanent disability suffered. The help of an experienced workers’ compensation attorney may be beneficial in the quest to get maximum benefits.
Source: reporterherald.com, “Man’s arm severed in industrial accident in north Loveland“, Sam Lounsberry, Aug. 30, 2017
