Have You Been Injured By A Pressure Washer?
You may think of a pressure washer as just another appliance, but pressure washers are high-powered tools that can cause serious bodily harm when used incorrectly or without proper care. In fact, pressure washers exert up to 4,000 square pounds of force per inch. That’s an incredible amount of force exerted on a concentrated area. For comparison, a standard hose exerts about 50 pounds of pressure per square inch. Pressure washers are commonly used to clean boats, cars, garages, and driveways. However, if the stream of a pressure washer comes into contact with bare skin it can cause real harm. A pressure washer can actually lacerate the skin, it is so intense and impactful. These lacerations are known as high-pressure injection wounds, and they can become serious and even deadly. These injuries occur when the high-pressure stream lacerates the skin and then the water continues to saturate the surrounding tissues. This can result in serious bacterial infection, even necessitating amputation if left too long without treatment. Pressure washers can result in permanent and debilitating trauma to the eyes, fracture bones in the face, feet, and hands, and can even cause herniated disks. Pressure washers can also result in dangerous slip-and-fall accidents and traumatic brain injuries.
Were You Involved in a Pressure-Washing Accident at Work?
If you are injured by a pressure washer at work, you may qualify for workers’ compensation insurance coverage. This coverage provides medical care for your injury and full or partial wage replacement as you recover. In order to qualify for this coverage, you must be categorized as an employee by your employer. If you are classified as an employee, it provides you coverage but limits your ability to sue the company. If you are classified as an independent contractor, your ability to sue is not impinged. In the event that the injury occurred due to negligence or recklessness on the part of the company, an independent contractor can sue the company to recover all damages associated with the injury.
Other Pressure-Washing Injuries
Other pressure washing injuries occur at home and on privately-owned property. Some are due to user error. If pressure washers are not accompanied with sufficient instructions or warnings then it can give rise to a product liability claim against the product’s manufacturer. Likewise, if a defect was made in designing or manufacturing the pressure washer that resulted in a higher-than-reasonable risk of harm, the manufacturer can be held accountable with a product liability lawsuit. In the event that someone else injured you with a pressure washer through their negligent or reckless conduct, they can be held accountable by bringing a personal injury lawsuit.
Talk to a Maryland Pressure-Washing Injury Lawyer
If you have suffered a serious injury as the result of a pressure-washing accident that was not your fault, talking to the Maryland personal injury attorneys at Berman | Sobin | Gross LLP can help you determine the best path forward to compensation and support. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
