Operating heavy machinery — forklifts, cranes, industrial presses, excavators, compactors, conveyor systems — puts workers in physical proximity to enormous forces that leave no room for error. When a machine fails, a safety guard is removed, or an employer cuts corners on maintenance or training, the results can include crushing injuries, amputations, traumatic brain injuries, and fatalities. If you or a family member has been seriously injured by heavy machinery at work, you need an attorney who understands both the legal landscape and the technical realities of industrial equipment injuries.
Heavy machinery accidents at work frequently involve multiple layers of liability. Your employer may have failed to provide required machine guarding, failed to conduct mandated lockout/tagout procedures, or failed to train operators adequately. These are OSHA violations — and in Texas, OSHA violations by a non-subscribing employer are powerful evidence of negligence that can support a direct civil lawsuit. Even if your employer carries workers' comp, the machine's manufacturer may have designed or built a defective product that created an unreasonable risk of injury independent of your employer's actions.
For more than 50 years, Edward T. Garza has helped seriously injured workers in San Antonio and throughout Texas recover the compensation they truly deserve — not the minimal amount that workers' comp pays out, but the full measure of their losses. Our firm takes heavy machinery cases on contingency, with no fee unless we win.
Key Facts About Heavy Machinery Accidents in Texas
OSHA reports that machine-related injuries account for approximately 18,000 amputations, lacerations, crushings, and abrasions in the United States each year. Machine guarding violations are consistently among OSHA's top 10 most-cited standards.
The BLS reports that contact with objects and equipment — including machinery — is the second-leading mechanism of fatal occupational injuries in the United States, accounting for roughly 17% of all worker deaths.
OSHA's Lockout/Tagout standard (29 CFR 1910.147) requires employers to establish energy control programs to protect workers from unexpected machine start-up or release of stored energy during maintenance. OSHA estimates this standard prevents 120 fatalities and 50,000 injuries per year when followed.
Texas DWC data shows that workers in manufacturing and extraction industries — sectors with high machinery use — report some of the highest rates of severe compensable injuries in the state.
Under Texas products liability law, an injured worker can sue a machine manufacturer for a design defect, manufacturing defect, or failure to warn without needing to prove negligence — only that the product was unreasonably dangerous when it left the manufacturer's control.
Common Questions About Heavy Machinery Accidents
My hand was crushed because a machine guard was missing. Who is responsible?
Multiple parties may be responsible. Your employer is required by OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.212 to provide adequate machine guarding on all machines that create hazards. If the guard was absent, removed, or inadequate, that is a violation supporting a negligence claim. Additionally, if the machine was sold without required guarding, the manufacturer may face a products liability claim.
Can I sue the machine manufacturer even if my employer has workers' comp?
Yes. Workers' comp bars most lawsuits against your employer, but it does not bar a products liability claim against a third party such as a machine manufacturer, distributor, or seller. If a design defect, manufacturing flaw, or failure to include adequate safety warnings contributed to your injury, you can pursue that claim separately and it can include full damages including pain and suffering.
What is a lockout/tagout violation and why does it matter for my case?
Lockout/tagout (LOTO) is an OSHA-mandated procedure requiring workers to lock machinery in the off position before performing maintenance or repairs to prevent accidental startup. If your employer did not have a LOTO program, failed to train workers on it, or allowed maintenance to be performed without it, that OSHA violation is direct evidence that your employer breached the duty of care owed to you.
My injury was serious but I was told I only qualify for workers' comp. Is that the end?
Not necessarily. Workers' comp may be one avenue of recovery, but a thorough investigation often reveals third-party claims — against a machine manufacturer, a maintenance contractor, a property owner, or another employer on a shared worksite — that are completely independent of the workers' comp system and can recover the full range of damages, including compensation for pain and suffering.
You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone
When you hire The Garza Law Firm, we guide you through every step of the legal process so you can focus on what matters most — your recovery.
Free Case Evaluation
We review the accident circumstances, the machinery involved, your employer's workers' comp status, and initial evidence of equipment failure, missing guarding, or OSHA violations.
Machine Preservation and Expert Inspection
We issue immediate legal holds for the machinery involved, coordinate forensic inspection by certified mechanical engineers, and document the physical condition of the machine, its guards, safety interlocks, and control systems.
OSHA Compliance Analysis
We obtain all OSHA inspection records, citations, and employer safety programs related to the machine and the workplace to identify every regulatory violation that supports your claim.
Products Liability Investigation
We trace the chain of custody of the machine from manufacturer through distributor to your employer, obtain design and safety specifications, and assess whether the machine was defectively designed or improperly modified.
Full Damages Documentation
Catastrophic machinery injuries often involve permanent disability, future surgeries, long-term rehabilitation, and loss of the ability to earn a living. We engage medical and vocational experts to quantify every element of your loss.
Litigation and Trial
Heavy machinery cases are complex, high-value, and actively contested by manufacturers and insurers. We prepare these cases for trial from the first day and have the experience to win them in court.
Ready to Discuss Your Case?
Contact The Garza Law Firm today for a free, no-obligation consultation. There is no fee unless we win.
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