Fatal work accident involving machinery

An accident involving a machine or even a fatal accident usually affects the operator, the manufacturer and the person involved in the accident, as well as any surviving relatives.
Fatal work accident machine accident machine expert

Fatal work accident involving machinery

What is this article about?

A fatal accident at work involving a machine can have serious and devastating consequences that extend far beyond the company involved. Such tragedies affect not only the person who was injured and their families, but also the operator of the machine and its manufacturer. In cases involving personal injury, several parties are involved in the investigation: the public prosecutor, the manufacturer, the operator and, in some cases, the bereaved.

Fatal Work Accidents Europe 2021
Figure 1: Fatal accidents at work in Europe in 2021 per 100,000 employed persons.

Determining the cause of an accident at work requires precise technical know-how . Professional machine experts play a crucial role in this process, regardless of whether they work for the public prosecutor, the manufacturer, the operator or the bereaved. Their expertise is essential to determine the technical reasons for the accident and thus clearly define responsibility.

This article highlights how experts can help uncover the technical causes of accidents at work through their in-depth analysis. In doing so, they lay the foundation for a legally sound assessment by courts and lawyers so that the respective responsibilities can be presented in a transparent and comprehensible manner.

Fatal work accident - four different clients

The following definition is used:

An accident is considered fatal if it results in the death of the victim within one year.

Machine experts and experts play a crucial role in the investigation of fatal accidents involving machines. If a fatal accident occurs, there are four potential clients for whom these experts can work. The tasks and focus of their work vary depending on the client, but in all cases it is about determining technical causes and clarifying responsibilities.

Arbeitsunfall Maschinenexperte
Figure 2: Fatal accidents at work in the EU in 2021 as of October 2023.

Figure 2 visualizes the fatal accidents at work in the EU in 2021, each per 100,000 employed persons.

public prosecutor's office in the machine accident

If an expert is commissioned by the public prosecutor’s office to investigate a (fatal) machine accident, he works independently and is free to carry out his investigations. Unlike in a civil case, he is not bound by an order for evidence . This means that the machine expert can comprehensively investigate all technical details and causes of the accident without having to follow the strict guidelines of a court case. The public prosecutor’s office is usually interested in whether there is criminal liability, for example due to negligent behavior. The expert provides the technical basis for this, which is later assessed legally.

operator of the "work accident machine"

The operator of a machine, usually also the employer, is responsible for ensuring that all machines made available to employees comply with the requirements of the Industrial Safety Ordinance and are safe. If a fatal accident occurs at work, an investigation is carried out on behalf of the operator to determine whether they have violated their duties. This may have happened, for example, due to deficiencies in the maintenance or operation of the machines. The expert examines whether there are technical indications of negligence on the part of the operator that could indicate contributory negligence. In cooperation with the operator’s lawyers, a defense strategy is then developed to protect against possible accusations.

manufacturer upon occurrence of "Fatal industrial accident"

After a fatal accident, the manufacturer of the machine inevitably becomes the focus of everyone involved, as the question of the product’s safety is raised. As an expert commissioned by the manufacturer, the expert examines whether the machine met the technical safety requirements of the Machinery Directive or whether a defect or inadequate design could have caused the accident. Another aspect is the investigation of the circumstances of the accident to clarify whether an operating error by the person involved in the accident played a role. The results of these investigations are processed together with the manufacturer’s lawyers in order to be well positioned both technically and legally and to fend off possible claims for damages.

Survivors of the "machine accident" resulting in death

If there is a fatal accident at work, it is often very important for the surviving relatives of an accident victim to gain clarity about whether the victim himself made a mistake or whether a third party is responsible for the accident. An expert acting on behalf of the surviving relatives therefore investigates whether there may be third-party responsibility. Such findings can not only have psychological significance for the surviving relatives, but also legal consequences, as they could lead to claims against those identified as responsible.

Conclusion on clients of a machine expert in the case of an accident at work involving machines

In all cases, machine experts work closely with lawyers to comprehensively analyze both technical and legal aspects. Their expertise helps to thoroughly investigate accidents (“fatal accidents at work”) and lay the foundation for court decisions. The focus of the investigation changes depending on the client, whether it is the defense of the operator or manufacturer, the information for the bereaved or the criminal assessment by the public prosecutor. The work of the experts is an important part of finding a fair and legally clear solution after a tragic accident.

Legal basis for machine experts in the event of an accident at work involving a machine

For machine experts, three legal principles are of central importance when conducting a technical investigation into the circumstances of the accident if a fatal accident at work occurs:

  1. The Machinery Directive and in this context the
  2. Machinery Ordinance and the
  3. Industrial safety regulations.
accident machine expert
Figure 3: Fatal work accidents per 100,000 employed persons in Germany between 1994 and 2022.

Figure 3 shows that the number of fatal accidents at work per 100,000 employed persons has continuously decreased in Germany since 1994. This is also a consequence of the Machinery Directive and the Industrial Safety Ordinance.

Machinery Directive

The Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC) is European legislation that regulates the legal framework for placing machinery on the market within the European Economic Area (EEA). Its main objective is to ensure the safety of machinery while facilitating the free movement of goods. The directive sets out essential health and safety requirements that machinery must meet before it can be placed on the market or put into service.

Essential Contents of the Machinery Directive

Important are:

  • safety and health requirements

The directive defines minimum requirements to ensure that machines are designed and constructed so that they are safe during use and do not pose a risk to the health and safety of users. Machinery accidents and, in particular, fatal accidents at work are to be minimised.

  • conformity assessment procedure

Manufacturers must ensure that their machines comply with the requirements of the directive. They must demonstrate this unilaterally by means of a CE marking, which confirms that the machine complies with all relevant EU regulations.

  • Technical Documentation

The manufacturer must provide comprehensive technical internal documentation for each machine, including, but not limited to, design plans, risk analyses and test reports. These documents must demonstrate that the machine conforms to the requirements and must be available for inspection.

  • operating instructions

The Machinery Directive also requires that every machine be supplied with instructions that contain clear and understandable information on how to use the machine safely. These instructions must be in the language of the country where the machine is used.

  • scope

The Machinery Directive applies to a wide range of machines, including production machinery, construction equipment, lifting equipment and many other industrial devices. However, certain machines, such as medical devices or military equipment, are not covered by this directive as they are regulated by specific other EU directives.

Objectives of the Machinery Directive

  • protection of workers and users

The directive ensures that machines are safe to operate and that risks to health (“fatal accidents at work”) are minimised.

  • free movement of goods

Through uniform safety standards, the directive enables the free trade of machinery within the EU member states without the need for special national regulations.

The

Compliance with the Machinery Directive is mandatory for manufacturers,

and violations can result in significant legal consequences, including recalls and fines.

9th Machinery Ordinance

The Ninth Regulation on the Product Safety Act (9. ProdSV), also known as the Ninth Machinery Regulation , implements the European Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC) into German law. This regulation regulates the

Safety requirements for the placing on the market and making available of machinery on the German market.

The aim of the 9th Machinery Regulation is to ensure a high level of machine and occupational safety while at the same time ensuring the free movement of goods within the EU.

Essential Contents of the Ninth Machinery Regulation

The following points are important:

  • implementation of the Machinery Directive

The 9th ProdSV incorporates the requirements of the Machinery Directive 1:1 into German law. This means that the safety requirements and conformity assessment procedures set out in the directive also apply to all machines sold or put into operation in Germany.

  • scope

The regulation applies to a wide range of machines, including industrial machinery, construction equipment, tools and other technical equipment. It applies both to machines manufactured in Germany and to imported machines from other countries that are made available on the German market.

  • market surveillance

Compliance with the requirements is monitored by German authorities. They have the right to inspect machines, carry out random checks and, if necessary, take action if a machine does not meet the safety requirements. In the worst case, this can lead to a sales ban or recall campaigns.

  • implementation of Annex I of the Machinery Directive

The safety requirements for the machine from the entire Annex I of the Machinery Directive are required.

Significance of the 9th Machinery Regulation

The 9th Machinery Regulation is of central importance for manufacturers, importers and operators of machinery in Germany, as it provides the legal framework for product safety in mechanical engineering. It ensures that only safe machines are placed on the market, which helps protect workers and users in industrial environments. Violations of the regulation can lead to legal sanctions, including fines and liability claims.

In summary, the 9th Machinery Regulation ensures that the European Machinery Directive is correctly implemented in Germany and that safety in handling machines in industrial and commercial areas is guaranteed.

Industrial Safety Ordinance (BetrSichV) 2015

The Industrial Safety Ordinance (BetrSichV) 2015 is a German ordinance that regulates the safe operation of work equipment and systems. It implements EU requirements into national law and

serves to protect employees.

Essential content

For machine operators, and usually also employers, the following are important:

  • Safe work equipment

Employers must ensure that all work equipment provided (e.g. machines, tools) is safe and complies with applicable requirements.

  • risk assessment

Employers must carry out risk assessments to identify risks when using work equipment and to determine appropriate protective measures.

  • inspection obligations

Certain work equipment, especially those with a high risk potential (e.g. pressure systems, lifts), must be regularly inspected by specialists.

  • protective measures

Technical, organizational and personal protective measures must be taken to ensure the safety of employees.

The regulation thus sets out the

Framework conditions for safe and legally compliant operation of machines and systems in the workplace

firmly.

Examples of work accidents involving machines

Work accidents involving machines have been significantly reduced thanks to the consistent implementation of strict guidelines. However, they can never be completely eliminated. For comprehensive information, the

thorough investigation of the technical causes

by experts and machine experts is crucial. This is the only way to ensure that every accident, especially a fatal accident at work, can be correctly processed and dealt with both technically and legally.

Example 1: Fatal work accident on a paper processing machine

When operating machines, the manufacturer must always take the “greatest possible misuse” into account. In this case, a machine operator climbed onto the crossbeam of a paper processing machine and was fatally injured while operating the machine. The injured person had to be freed mechanically because the rescue team did not dare to operate the machine.

industrial accident machine expert
Image 1: Fatal industrial accident on a paper processing machine.

The manufacturer stated that climbing up the lifting beam was unnecessary in the event of a paper jam, as the problem could have been solved via the control system. In addition, the main power should have been switched off whenever a problem occurred, which would have prevented the accident. Reference was made to the operating instructions, but a check revealed that these did not explicitly state that climbing up the machine was not permitted. The manufacturer stated that they did not expect anyone to climb up the machine and work in the area of the lifting beam.

However, the applicable Machinery Directive requires that such scenarios must also be taken into account in the development of a machine. A technical inspection showed that the operating instructions were incomplete in this respect and that a

instruction error

There was no description of how an operator should safely handle a paper jam.

It was also found that the manufacturer had violated the

principle of “integration of security”

This principle requires that the manufacturer minimises risks, including those arising from unforeseeable situations, by taking measures in the design and construction of the machine.

Security integration takes place in three stages:

  1. Eliminate risks through constructive measures.
  2. Reduce residual risks through technical protective measures, such as protective devices.
  3. User information (operating instructions, warnings, etc.) if 1. and 2. are not technically possible.

The first two levels concern measures that take effect regardless of the operators’ behavior, while the third level depends on the staff correctly implementing the instructions. As a result, both a design error and an instruction error were identified that had contributed to the accident.

Example 2: Fatal accident on a scissor lift

The lifting table had been defective for some time, and the motor was initially suspected as the possible cause. The managing director of the company that operated the lifting table then commissioned a company, but the company was unable to repair the defect. In his impatience, the managing director decided to verbally commission the employees of an external company that was on site at the same time to carry out the repairs.

machine accident
Figure 2: Example of a scissor lift table.

The original repair company left the lifting table unfinished, lowered and with no visible progress. An employee of the operator then manually pulled the lifting table to the highest position using a chain via a pulley and additionally secured it with four locking brackets. A journeyman and an apprentice from the second repair company then began to attempt to repair the table – on verbal instructions from management.

However, neither employee knew that the actual problem was the defective hydraulics. They continued to suspect the electric motor as the cause. Tragically, a fatal accident occurred during the repair: the trainee was fatally trapped and crushed between the scissors of the lifting table.

The technical accident analysis of the “fatal industrial accident involving machinery” revealed shocking details about the cause of the accident:

  • The motor was connected incorrectly.
  • Manually raising the lifting table with a chain created a vacuum in the hydraulics, which rendered the safety precautions ineffective.

To make matters worse, despite the CE marking, there was no signed declaration of conformity, the operating instructions were missing and the serial number of the table did not match that stated in the declaration of conformity. In addition, further violations of the Machinery Directive were found, including the lack of operating and maintenance instructions.

Three options that could have prevented the fatal accident were identified:

  1. Removing the safety hooks from the outside – the table would have fallen, but without causing any injuries.
  2. A longer start-up of the correctly connected motor.
  3. Removing the safety hooks while the lift is still secured by the pulley system.

Open questions after technical examination of the “machine accident at work” remained:

  • How could the manufacturer hand over a machine without knowing the full safety details and without providing a complete operating manual?
  • How could the operator’s managers safely instruct their staff on the machine without knowing the documentation?
  • Why was a journeyman tasked with repairing a hydraulic system even though he had no experience in doing so, and why was the inexperienced apprentice involved in this dangerous process?

These questions were finally legally assessed by the public prosecutor and the lawyers involved.

The role of the machine expert: support in error reduction

A root cause analysis expert can play a critical role in identifying, analyzing and reducing errors.

Depending on who the machine expert works for, be it

  • the public prosecutor’s office,
  • the machine manufacturer,
  • the machine operator or
  • the survivors,

He can provide support in a variety of areas. He can help investigate workplace accidents, conduct technical analyses, evaluate safety precautions and make recommendations to reduce errors. Working with an expert helps to

to clarify responsibility for work accidents

and take measures to improve safety in the workplace.

Technical recommendations

The explanations provide a brief insight into the real and sad areas of being an expert in machine damage. In any case, the following applies to clarification:

Technical expertise is essential.

In order to identify possible technical problems and their technical responsibility as well as to be able to assess their relevance in a legal matter by lawyers, in-depth technical understanding is essential.

If there is a fatal accident at work involving machinery, the following is also of particular importance in the party’s mandate:

Cooperation between technology and law.

Conclusion and final thoughts: Fatal industrial accident machine

In the event of a fatal accident at work, a precise and comprehensive clarification of the circumstances and the technical cause is of the utmost importance. The precise determination of the processes and causes is essential in order to fully understand the machine accident and to be able to clearly assign responsibilities. A competent machine expert plays a central role in this, as he or she can assess the technical conditions and thus uncover the causes of the accident.

A professional expert is particularly important, as technical defects or malfunctions often contribute significantly to the occurrence of accidents. He can check whether the

Machine complies with the legal regulations, in particular the relevant standards and guidelines,

This includes, for example, the Machinery Directive, which contains regulations on the safety and protection of employees when operating machines. The industrial accident machine expert analyses the design, safety precautions and technical condition of the machine at the time of the accident and assesses whether technical deficiencies or human error led to the fatal accident.

This technical expertise is of central importance for the legal investigation of the accident. The machine expert’s findings provide the public prosecutor with a basis for initiating criminal investigations and determining responsibility. This may involve possible negligence on the part of the manufacturer, the operator of the machine or other parties involved. The party expert can use his expertise to help answer key questions on the subject of “fatal accidents at work”, such as:

  • Was the machine technically sound and installed correctly?
  • Has it been properly maintained and operated?
  • Were there any defects in the design that led to the accident?
  • Did errors in the operating instructions or in the training of the staff play a role?
  • Was the operation incorrect?
  • In which area of responsibility (manufacturer, operator, accident victim, etc.)

In addition to the public prosecutor, judges and lawyers of the parties involved also benefit from the expert’s analyses, as these help to assess the case legally. In court proceedings, reports often serve as key documents to clarify whether criminal or civil liability exists. A comprehensive technical report can, for example, prove whether the manufacturer violated applicable safety regulations, whether the operator of the machine neglected their duty of care or whether third parties were involved in the accident.

The relatives of the accident victim also have a legitimate interest in a complete explanation. They can find out from the expert which technical defects or operational failures led to the tragic incident. In the case of civil proceedings to enforce claims for damages, the technical report is an essential component in clarifying the question of liability and substantiating the claim.

Experts therefore work in various functions:

  • For the public prosecutor: to determine criminal responsibility.
  • For the manufacturer: to demonstrate whether the machine has been properly designed and operated.
  • For the operator: to clarify whether maintenance and operating errors have been committed.
  • For the bereaved: to understand the course of the accident and, if necessary, to assert claims.

Overall, experts play a

irreplaceable role in the investigation of fatal accidents at work,

because their technical expertise helps to make the circumstances of the accident transparent and thus makes a decisive contribution to the legal investigation.

Important:

“Fatal industrial accident involving machinery”: Contact competent experts at an early stage to protect your interests in the event of industrial accidents involving machinery.

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