Winter Means a Rise in Snow Blowing Accidents

With winter underway, more and more people are turning to snow blowers to help clear their snowy surroundings. However, snow blowers are extremely dangerous, and can cause major bodily harm if not used properly. Each year, almost 5,700 people in the United States seek emergency help for snowblower-related injuries, and about 1,000 of those accidents require some form of amputation. Some may seem minor, such as cuts or scrapes, but more serious injuries include broken bones, sprains, and finger and/or hand amputations. A chief surgeon at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York believes that most snowblowing injuries are caused by lack of attention on the user’s part. Someone may look away for a few seconds, and those few seconds may drastically change their life.

While in use, snow blowers build up pressure, but when turned off, the pressure remains inside the rotor blades. Since they often become clogged with snow, the machines need to be cleared. With pressure remaining in the blades, however, it makes unclogging the machine an extremely dangerous task. In new snow blowers, safety devices are installed to help prevent excessive tension buildup. Unfortunately, owners may not read the manual and are unaware that the safety devices exist, or disable them altogether, which means more snow blowing accidents are likely to happen. Thick gloves may help prevent hands from scrapes, bruises, and other minor injuries, but gloves cannot prevent more serious, and perhaps deadly, damages.

Some experts claim that using a stick or branch to unclog a snowblower is the safest method. If a stick or branch is unavailable to the user, they may be forced to use their hands if they wish to continue using the snowblower. For most snow blowers, the pressure buildup is a dangerous design flaw, and cause thousands of accidents each year. If you or someone you know live in New York and has been injured while using a defective product, an injury attorney in New York City may be able to help. At Greenberg and Stein we have over 50 years of combined litigation experience, and have helped clients fight for their rights. If you have been injured in any form of accident, do not hesitate in seeking aid. Call Greenberg and Stein today.