Working on a dredger is one type of maritime career a person could choose to follow. This type of maritime work entails excavating and moving sediment from the bottom of a lake, river, inlet, etc. and moving the sediment elsewhere.
Dredging is done for a variety of reasons, such as making waters safer to navigate for larger vessels, harvesting shellfish, helping to reduce beach erosion, preparing waterways for new pier or dock installations, and so on.
Dredger workers need to be aware of the various types of accidents that could occur while working on a dredge vessel, including:
- Slip, Trips, and Falls
- Falling Objects, Equipment, and/or Materials
- Malfunctioning Equipment
- Faulty Machinery
- High-Pressure Water “Explosions”
- Improper Maintenance Injuries
- Blocked Dredging Pipelines Service Injuries
- Cabling Injuries
- Crushing Injuries
The extent of personal injuries sustained during an accident could include one or more of the following:
- Loss of Fingers, Hands, Toes, Feet, and Limbs
- Shoulder Injuries
- Head, Skull and Brain Injuries
- Neck Injuries
- Back Injuries
- Eye Injuries
- Arm, Leg, Elbow, and Knee Injuries
- Hip Injuries
- Wrist, Hands, Ankle and Feet Injuries
- Crushed and Broken Bone Injuries
- Muscle, Tendon, and Ligament Injuries
- Death
In order to prevent and reduce the risks of accidents and injuries, dredger workers should make sure they are fully trained to perform assigned tasks and follow all safety precautions. In the event they notice something that is not right, like a malfunctioning piece of equipment, they should report it and stop using it until it is fixed.
Real-Life Dredger Accidents and Injuries
On November 28, 2009, two men fell off a disabled boat, which lost its engines and went over a dam, while working on a dredging project in the Hudson River, near Saratoga, NY. Both men sustained injuries. Unfortunately, one man ended up dying from his injuries from “cold water drowning
On February 19, 2014, the captain of a dredge had to be evacuated and treated for injuries after he tripped over an object, which caused him to fall onto a cable.2 While the injuries were minor, it was still an accident that could have been prevented.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a dredger accident and sustained injuries, you may be entitled to certain types of compensations under maritime laws. To find out more, speak to a local maritime lawyer at Maintenance and Cure, part of Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., by calling 1-800-836-5830 today!
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