3 workplace incidents that might lead to limb loss

Many work incidents only lead to minor injuries. Workers cut themselves with tools or sprain something because they overexert their bodies. With rest and appropriate medical treatment, they make a full recovery.

Other times, incidents on the job have catastrophic consequences. People can sustain injuries that forever change the course of their lives and may even prevent them from continuing their careers. Limb loss or amputation is one of the most severe injuries possible. There are numerous ways for workers to end up losing a limb or extremity at work, and the three types of incidents below are among the most common.

1. Machinery incidents

For those working on construction sites or in manufacturing facilities, contact with heavy equipment can lead to a traumatic amputation on the job. Timing errors or machinery malfunctions can lead to an immediate amputation that could endanger someone’s life due to blood loss. Machinery incidents can also cause catastrophic crush injuries. While salvaging limbs after crush injuries can sometimes be an option, surgical amputation is sometimes the best course of treatment.

2. Car crashes

Collisions while traveling in motor vehicles for work are among the top sources of severe professional injuries. Collisions have the potential to cause immediate amputation through traumatic injury. Crashes can also cause crush injuries that force health care professionals to amputate affected body parts to allow for the best recovery and long-term prognosis for the patient.

3. Severe burns

Both chemical and thermal burns can cause catastrophic damage to the skin, muscles and connective tissue of a damaged body part. Burns often cause nerve damage and increase the risk of severe infections. In some cases, health care professionals may determine that those who sustained major burns primarily affecting one limb or extremity may not recover well. They may recognize amputation as the most effective treatment method.

Those who lose a body part due to an on-the-job incident may find that they have to change their careers. They have a lifetime of reduced income to consider, as well as increased lifetime medical expenses to address. Workers’ compensation can help by providing disability benefits and medical coverage. Securing assistance when facing a workers’ compensation claim related to a catastrophic injury can help professionals get the support they need when an on-the-job incident changes their body forever.