Machine-Related Injuries in Battery Manufacturing Facilities: Nevada Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Nevada’s battery manufacturing industry has become an important part of the state’s advanced manufacturing economy. The Reno-Sparks area is home to major battery operations, including Tesla’s Gigafactory Nevada and Panasonic Energy’s lithium-ion battery manufacturing operation. Tesla describes its Nevada facility as one of its highest-volume plants, while Panasonic has operated its battery manufacturing operation in Sparks since 2017.
The advanced machinery used in these facilities allows workers to produce batteries and other components at a massive scale. However, working around automated production lines, conveyors, robotic equipment, presses, and other industrial machinery can also create serious workplace hazards. When a machine-related accident occurs, an employee may suffer crushing injuries, fractures, lacerations, burns, amputations, or other serious conditions. Nevada workers’ compensation may provide medical care and financial benefits to employees injured while performing their job duties.
Why Machinery Is Essential—and Potentially Dangerous—in Battery Manufacturing
Battery manufacturing relies on complex equipment and highly automated production processes. Employees may operate machinery, monitor production lines, perform inspections, clear equipment problems, or maintain and repair machines. The risks can change depending on the worker’s position. A production employee may be exposed to moving machinery during normal operations, while a maintenance technician may face additional hazards when servicing equipment.
Machine hazards can include moving parts, pinch points, rotating components, automated equipment, conveyors, and points where materials are cut, formed, assembled, or transported. OSHA notes that unguarded or inadequately guarded machinery can cause crushing injuries, lacerations, burns, amputations, and other serious injuries.
Common Machine-Related Accidents in Battery Facilities
Machine accidents can happen in seconds, sometimes before a worker has an opportunity to react.
Caught-Between and Crush Injuries
A worker can become caught between moving machinery and another object or be pulled into a dangerous part of a production system. These accidents can cause severe damage to the hands, arms, legs, or other parts of the body.
Pinch-Point Injuries
Pinch points occur where moving components come together. A hand, finger, or other body part caught between machinery can suffer fractures, crushing, or amputation.
Conveyor Accidents
Automated conveyor systems may move materials continuously through different stages of production. Workers who inspect, maintain, or work near these systems can be injured if they come into contact with moving components.
Robotic Equipment Accidents
Automated machinery can move quickly and unexpectedly. Workers performing maintenance, troubleshooting, or other tasks near robotic equipment may be injured if the machine activates or moves unexpectedly.
Unexpected Machine Start-Up
Maintenance and repair work can present particular risks when machinery contains stored or unexpected energy. OSHA’s lockout/tagout requirements are designed to protect employees performing servicing and maintenance by requiring hazardous energy to be controlled before work begins.
Common Injuries From Manufacturing Machinery
The severity of a machine-related injury depends on the equipment involved and how the accident occurred.
Battery manufacturing employees may suffer:
- Crushed fingers, hands, or limbs
- Fractures
- Severe lacerations
- Tendon and nerve damage
- Amputations
- Burns
- Shoulder and joint injuries
- Back injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Permanent loss of mobility or function
Even an injury that initially appears minor can become a long-term problem if it affects a worker’s ability to perform repetitive manufacturing tasks. Serious machine injuries may also require surgery, physical therapy, occupational rehabilitation, or extended time away from work.
How Nevada Workers’ Compensation Covers Machine Injuries
If an employee is injured while performing work-related duties at a Nevada battery manufacturing facility, the injury may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.
Coverage may apply when an employee is injured while:
- Operating manufacturing equipment
- Monitoring an automated production line
- Clearing or addressing a machine problem
- Performing equipment inspections
- Maintaining or repairing machinery
- Loading or unloading production materials
- Performing required training
- Completing other assigned work
Nevada workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system. This means an injured employee generally does not have to prove that an employer or coworker caused the accident in order to pursue workers’ compensation benefits. The circumstances surrounding the injury still matter, however. Properly reporting the accident and obtaining appropriate medical care can help establish the connection between the workplace accident and the resulting injury.
What Workers’ Compensation Benefits May Be Available?
A serious manufacturing injury can create significant medical expenses while preventing an employee from returning to work. Depending on the circumstances, Nevada workers’ compensation may provide several types of benefits.
Medical Benefits
Workers’ compensation may cover reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to a workplace injury. This may include emergency treatment, diagnostic testing, surgery, physical therapy, medications, and other authorized care.
Temporary Disability Benefits
If an injury prevents you from working while you recover, you may qualify for temporary disability benefits that replace a portion of your lost wages.
For manufacturing employees whose jobs require standing, lifting, operating machinery, or performing repetitive tasks, temporary restrictions can make returning to the same position difficult.
Permanent Partial Disability Benefits
Some machine injuries result in permanent impairment. For example, an employee may experience permanent loss of movement, nerve damage, reduced strength, or loss of a finger or limb.
Depending on the circumstances and the level of impairment, permanent partial disability benefits may be available.
Vocational Rehabilitation
A serious machine injury may prevent an employee from returning to the same manufacturing position. If the worker cannot safely perform the previous job, vocational rehabilitation may provide assistance with preparing for suitable alternative employment.
What Should You Do After a Machine-Related Injury?
If you are injured by manufacturing equipment, report the injury to your employer as soon as possible. Even if you believe the injury is minor, reporting it creates a record of what happened. Seek appropriate medical attention and explain to the medical provider how the injury occurred and what work you were performing at the time.
It can also be helpful to keep copies of medical records, work restrictions, accident reports, and other documentation related to the injury. If coworkers witnessed the accident, make a note of who was present. For serious injuries, including crush injuries, amputations, or injuries requiring surgery, maintaining detailed records can become especially important as the claim progresses.
What If a Machine Malfunctioned or Was Not Properly Guarded?
An employee may wonder whether workers’ compensation applies if a machine malfunctioned, a guard was missing, or another safety issue contributed to the accident. Generally, an employee does not have to prove fault to receive workers’ compensation benefits for a qualifying workplace injury. The focus of the workers’ compensation claim is generally on the work-related injury and the benefits available under Nevada law.
Machine guarding is an important workplace safety issue. OSHA explains that machines capable of causing injury must be safeguarded and identifies hazards involving points of operation, rotating parts, pinch points, and other mechanical movements. If another party outside the employer may have contributed to the accident, there could potentially be additional legal considerations beyond the workers’ compensation claim. Those situations depend heavily on the specific facts of the accident.
Protecting Your Rights After a Battery Manufacturing Injury
Battery manufacturing employees in Northern Nevada work with sophisticated equipment that plays an important role in the state’s growing advanced manufacturing industry. But the speed, power, and complexity of modern production machinery can create serious risks for the people operating and maintaining it. A machine-related injury can result in extensive medical treatment, lost income, permanent impairment, or an inability to return to the same type of work. Nevada workers’ compensation benefits are designed to provide injured employees with medical and financial support after a qualifying workplace injury.
If you were injured by machinery while working at a battery manufacturing facility in Nevada, understanding your workers’ compensation rights can help you take the appropriate steps while you recover. Attorney Jay Short is dedicated to helping you recover benefits for work-related injuries and illnesses. Specializing in workers’ compensation, we fight to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve. Call us anytime, day or night, at (775) 786-2006 for a free consultation, or reach out to us online for assistance.
GET YOUR FREE CASE EVALUATION NOW!
* Please note that our practice is limited to Work Injuries. We do not accept cases for Wrongful Termination, Employment Discrimination or Wage & Hour disputes.