Baler machines are used in industries such as recycling, agriculture and commercial environments to compress waste and other products to save space. Because of their size and the forces used, baler machines can be extremely dangerous. They can lead to life-changing injuries like amputations or, in some cases, lead to fatalities. Importantly, if you’ve been injured by a baling machine at work due to somebody else’s negligence, you may be eligible to make a baler machine accident claim for compensation.

Our team is available if you’ve any questions about your eligibility to claim. If you call, one of our advisors will listen to how and why you were injured by the baler machine and explain your options. If you wish to claim after your free consultation, one of our personal injury solicitors may decide to represent you. If they do, you won’t pay their legal fees upfront as you’ll receive No Win No Fee legal representation.

Please read on for more about baler machine accident compensation claims or call 0800 6524 881 to speak to us right away.

Am I Eligible To Make A Baler Machine Accident Claim?

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) and other legislation mean that employers have a legal duty of care to try and ensure the safety of staff when using workplace equipment.

Therefore, you may be eligible to claim compensation for a baling machine accident if:

• Your employer’s negligence meant that they breached their duty of care under PUWER or other acts; and
• An accident involving a baler machine occurred; and
• You were injured due to the accident.

If you or a loved one have been injured by a baler machine at work and you can show that your employer’s negligence caused the accident, you may be eligible to claim compensation. Please call our team to find out more.

Examples Of Baler Machine Accidents

Waste balers, hay balers, cardboard balers and compactors are powerful machines that can cause injuries. Some of the most common baler accidents that can occur include:

• Being crushed after falling into a horizontal baler.
• Having limbs trapped in a baler after safety devices failed.
• Falling into a hopper leading to a baler while clearing blockages.
• Being trapped or strangled by string or straps used to secure bales in a factory accident.
• Lacerations and limb injuries caused by faulty conveyor belts leading to the baler machine.
• Falling from height when trying to load into the baler.

These are just a handful of examples of the types of accidents that could lead to a baler machine accident claim. If you’ve suffered a different type of injury, please call and we’ll assess your claim with you for free.

Fatal Baler Machine Accidents

Unfortunately, baler machine accidents can result in deaths. While you might not feel up to suing if you’ve lost a loved one in such an accident, there might come a time when you decide to act.

Our team are happy to answer any questions and provide free legal advice about fatal accident claims. If you decide to proceed, one of our solicitors might agree to try and secure evidence to cover funeral costs or the loss of the deceased’s income if this was something you were dependent on.

Examples Of Injuries Caused By Baling Machines

We won’t list every possible baling machine injury here but some of the most common work-related injuries that result in compensation claims include:

If you’ve suffered a different injury, please let us know so that we can explain your legal options.

Employer Negligence Resulting In Baler Machine Accident Claims

Your employer must have made some sort of mistake or failed to take preventative steps to stop workplace accidents if you’re to make a baler machine compensation claim. This might include:

• Failure to train you on using the baler safely.
• Failure to fix known faults with the baler machine.
• Using the hay baler on a farm for purposes not specified by the manufacturer.
• Not providing staff with necessary PPE (gloves, hard hats etc) to reduce the risk of injury where necessary.
• Failing to maintain the baler properly.
• A lack of proper risk assessments.

Our accident-at-work solicitors can help if you’ve got any questions about suing your employer so please get in touch.

How Much Compensation For A Baling Machine Accident?

Your solicitor will aim to secure compensation for any psychological, financial or physical suffering when making a baler machine accident claim. To begin, they’ll look at general damages. This part of a claim covers physical and emotional injuries as well as loss of amenity (the impact your injuries have on your normal activities).

Our compensation calculator shows some example compensation figures for baler machine injuries:

To ascertain the amount of suffering you’ve endured, an independent medical assessment is generally required for personal injury claims. A medical expert will be asked to examine you, discuss how you’ve suffered and check your medical records. The report they file after your appointment will be used to help calculate the level of compensation you might be entitled to.

On top of general damages, you could claim special damages to help recoup any associated financial costs from your injuries. These could include:

• Lost earnings.
• Medical expenses (eg prescription fees, physiotherapy and private hospital treatment).
• Travel costs relating to your injuries.
• The cost of any care required.
• Any future reduction in earnings.
• Home adaptations to make it easier to cope with the consequences of more serious baler machine accidents.

Your solicitor will need to get a proper understanding of your suffering so that they can try to secure the correct level of compensation for your injuries. This will also need to think about any suffering in the future as you’re only able to claim once.

Evidence To Support A Baler Machine Accident Claim

Your employer won’t normally deal with a baler machine accident claim on their own. It’s much more usual for companies to pass claims to their insurance provider. Therefore, your solicitor will need to convey to them, with evidence, how the baler accident occurred, why your employer is to blame and the extent of your injuries. Such evidence could include:

• Accident or investigation reports. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) often investigates serious workplace accidents. Reports from these investigations or workplace accident report forms could be used to prove the cause, time and location of the accident.
• Medical reports. Hospital records, scan results and X-rays will be obtained by your solicitor and used in conjunction with an independent medical assessment to help prove the extent of your injuries.
• CCTV footage. If your baler machine accident was caught on CCTV cameras, you’re entitled to ask for a copy of the footage.
• Photographs. If it’s safe to do so, you could take pictures of the baler to try and capture the defect that caused your accident. Similarly, you could take photos of any visible injuries to prove how you’ve suffered.
• Witness statements. Your solicitor may ask anybody who saw your accident happen to explain what they saw. These statements are often helpful if liability for the accident isn’t clear.

Whether you’ve collected evidence relating to your baling machine accident already or not, please call and let us assess the merits of your case. If further evidence is required, your solicitor will try to find it if your case proceeds.

Time Limits For Claiming Baling Machine Accident Compensation

As with other personal injury claims, you’ll need to begin a baler accident claim within a 3-year time limit. For most claims, this will start on the date of your accident.

As some baler machine injuries can be serious injuries that are both complex and long-lasting, starting your claim as quickly as possible after the accident is a good idea. That’s because early interim payments might be paid before your claim is settled to help with medical and care costs. Interim payments could also help to cover any lost income.

If you have lost a loved one following a fatal baler accident, you’ll have 3-years from the date they died (or the date you found out about their death) to begin a compensation claim.

Starting The Baler Machine Accident Claims Process

If you or a loved one has suffered following a baler machine accident, please call us to see if you could be eligible to claim compensation. Simply call 0800 6524 881 and a specially trained member of our team will review your case for free.

You’re not obligated to start a claim after your call but if that’s something you’d like to do, your claim could be referred to one of our personal injury solicitors. If they agree to work for you, your claim will be managed from start to finish on a No Win No Fee basis.

Please call or use our live chat service if there’s anything further you’d like to know about baler machine accident claims.