FACTS
- According to OSHA, most machine-related accidents happen as a result of a reflex action or when the operator is not paying attention.
- Lathes are so dangerous because of the speed and weight of their moving parts.
- The most common causes of death and injury because of lathes include the entanglement of clothing in moving parts, being hit by loose objects on the machine, and being hit by a poorly secured or oversized workpiece.
- Lathes are used in both industrial and smaller shop settings. Accidents involving lathes result in hundreds of serious workplace injuries and deaths every year due to material kickbacks, flying chips from the materials being worked on, and hair, fingers, or clothing being caught in the machine.
- Injuries from a lathe accident can severely alter the life of the victim, including disability, disfigurement, loss of the ability to work, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and wrongful death.
- The lathes hold metal workpieces and rotate them at high speed while special cutting tools reshape the spinning metal.
STATS
- Operators of lathes are one of the largest machine worker populations in the United States, estimated to account for over 140,000 machinists. Of this population, approximately 3,000 suffer lost-time injuries annually in the United States. Some of these are fatal.
- Machines (other than vehicular) account for over 10% of occupational injuries each year. An estimated 3,400 operators of metal-working lathes suffer lost-time injuries annually in the United States.
- These accidents occur in large industrial settings and factories, as well as in much smaller machine shops.
- The number of accidents occurred by lathes were 13,647, resulting in 37 deaths, 411 permanent injuries, and 13,199 temporary disabilities.