Amputations are a risk in many industries

When someone suffers an amputation injury, it can severely change the course of their life. They may never be able to return to work. They may have to deal with issues like phantom pain. The amputation can happen in a split second, but the ramifications last forever.

As such, it’s important for workers to know when they are at risk and what they can do to stay safe. They need to have all of the proper training and personal protection equipment to do their jobs correctly.

A wide variety of industries

It’s also important to remember that amputations aren’t exclusive to any specific industry. They can happen in many different ways. Examples include:

• A carpenter who is using a bandsaw 
• A construction worker who is using a table saw 
• A warehouse worker who is using a powered conveyor belt 
• A heavy machinery operator who is using a hydraulic press 
• A deli worker who is using a food slicer 
• An industrial food prep worker who is using a meat grinder or a meat cutting bandsaw
• A doctor or nurse who is using a cutting implement

Additionally, amputations can happen during the normal operation of these tools, and they can also happen during maintenance, upkeep and cleaning. Workers need to be vigilant at every step in this process to ensure that they focus on safety and do everything in their power to avoid injury.

What if it still happens?

Unfortunately, even safe and careful workers can get injured on the job. Since an amputation injury can have such a drastic impact on their life, they need to know how to seek proper workers’ comp benefits to cover medical bills, long-term costs and lost wages.