Dangerous Machinery Accident Claims: Injured by a Machine at Work
A dangerous machinery accident claim is a personal injury claim for an injury caused by work equipment that was unguarded, poorly maintained, faulty or used without proper training, from a hand caught in a conveyor to a crush injury from a press; your employer must make machinery safe under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and is responsible even where the fault was the manufacturer's, the claim must normally start within three years, and National Accident Support Line assesses whether there is a claim and refers it to a specialist solicitor, with a callback within 2 minutes.
Machinery injuries happen in a fraction of a second and are rarely minor. Fingers, hands and arms are caught, crushed or cut; sleeves and gloves are drawn into rotating parts. Contact with moving machinery killed 10 workers in the HSE's provisional figures for 2025/26, and many more are seriously injured every year. Most of these accidents happen while someone is clearing a blockage, cleaning, setting up or maintaining a machine: the moments when the guards are off and the machine should have been isolated.
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What your employer must do with machinery
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, known as PUWER, require work equipment to be suitable for the job, kept in good repair and efficient working order, and used only by people who have had proper information, instruction and training. Access to dangerous parts has to be prevented in a set order: fixed guards first; then other guards or protection devices, such as interlocked doors and light curtains; then jigs, holders and push-sticks; and only after all of those, information, instruction and supervision. Guards mustn't be easy to bypass or disable. Machines also need a way of being isolated from their power, so they can be made safe before anyone clears a jam or works on them.
Since October 2013, breaking one of these regulations doesn't by itself win a claim. The claim is that the employer was negligent, and the regulations set the standard a reasonable employer is measured against. In practice, a missing guard or a machine nobody maintained usually makes that case on its own.
When the machine itself was faulty
If a machine fails because of a manufacturing or design defect, you don't have to chase a manufacturer you've never dealt with. Under the Employers' Liability (Defective Equipment) Act 1969, where an employee is injured by defective equipment their employer provided for the job, and the defect is wholly or partly the fault of someone else, such as the manufacturer, the injury is treated as the employer's negligence. The claim goes to the employer's insurer, which can then pursue the manufacturer itself.
| What caused the accident | What it usually points to |
|---|---|
| A guard missing, removed or bypassed | A failure to guard dangerous parts and to supervise |
| Clearing a jam with the machine still running | No safe isolation procedure, or one that wasn't followed or enforced |
| Shown how to use it by a colleague, never formally trained | A failure to give adequate training |
| A machine overdue for maintenance, or already reported as faulty | A failure to maintain |
| A defect from the manufacturer | The employer's responsibility under the 1969 Act |
| The wrong machine for the job | Unsuitable equipment |
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Machinery injuries and what the claim covers
Amputations of fingers, hands and limbs, crush injuries, fractures, deep cuts and degloving, burns and eye injuries. Amputations and most fractures are specified injuries that the employer must report to the HSE under RIDDOR, and the HSE often investigates. The claim covers the injury and its lasting effect, including prosthetics, adaptations to your home and car, and retraining where you can't do the same job; lost earnings now and in future; treatment and rehabilitation; and care from family. Tractors, balers and other farm machinery are covered on farm accident claims.
The situations people describe to us
"They're saying I used it wrong"
Employers often argue that the worker was careless. If you were partly at fault, the claim is reduced by your share, not refused. But a machine that let someone reach the danger zone, or a task nobody trained you for, usually puts the larger share on the employer. Guards exist because people make mistakes.
"A colleague showed me how to use it on my first day"
Being shown once by a colleague is not the training PUWER requires. Training has to cover the risks of the machine and the precautions, and the employer has to be able to show it was given. Ask for your training records.
"The machine had been playing up for weeks and we'd all reported it"
Reports of a fault, in a maintenance log, an email, a defect sheet or a message to a supervisor, are strong evidence that the employer knew. Write down who you told and when, and ask colleagues who reported it too.
"It was almost new and it just failed"
Then the defect may lie with the manufacturer. Under the 1969 Act that is still a claim against your employer's insurer, so you don't have to take on the manufacturer yourself.
What to do after a machinery accident
Get medical help straight away. Ask for the machine to be left as it is until it has been photographed, and photograph it yourself if you can: the guard, the controls, the warning signs. Ask for the maintenance records and your training records, or note who holds them. Make sure the accident is in the accident book. Take the names of witnesses. Don't sign anything from your employer or their insurer about how it happened without advice. Keep payslips and a note of every day off and every appointment. Then get in touch.
How a machinery accident claim works with National Accident Support Line
Tell us what happened, by the form, WhatsApp or a call to 0333 212 2730; web enquiries are called back within 2 minutes during opening hours. We ask what the machine was, what you were doing, whether it was guarded and isolated, and what training you'd had. If there is a claim, we refer it to a specialist workplace injury solicitor who runs it on a no win no fee basis. If there isn't, we tell you straight. NASL is an FCA-regulated claims management company, not a law firm. Injuries in heavy industry more generally are on the industrial accident claims page, production-line accidents on the factory injury claims page, and the general rules on work injury claims in our workplace guide. Every other kind of injury claim we refer is listed on our personal injury page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim if my employer blames me for the machinery accident?
Yes. Blame is decided on the evidence, not on who says it first. If you were partly at fault, the claim is reduced by your share; where the machine wasn't properly guarded, maintained or explained, the employer usually carries most of it.
Can I claim if I wasn't trained on the machine?
Yes. Employers must make sure anyone using work equipment has had adequate information, instruction and training. Being put on a machine without it is one of the clearest grounds for a claim.
Will claiming affect my job?
The claim is handled by your employer's insurer, which every employer must have by law. Raising a health and safety concern is legally protected, and the solicitor can advise if you're worried.
What are my rights if I'm injured at work by faulty equipment?
Your employer is responsible for equipment it provides, even where the fault was the manufacturer's, so the claim is made against your employer's insurer.
Does my employer have to report a machinery accident?
Yes, if it caused an amputation, most fractures, or kept you off work or off your normal duties for more than seven days. The report goes to the HSE under RIDDOR.
How long do I have to make a machinery accident claim?
Three years from the accident. For a child, three years from their 18th birthday.
What does no win no fee mean?
Nothing to pay upfront and nothing to your solicitor if the claim fails. If it succeeds, the solicitor's success fee, capped at 25% of your compensation for the injury and past losses, comes out of the award, along with any insurance premium; the total is set out in writing before you sign.
We'll call you back within 2 minutes with a straight answer on where you stand.
National Accident Support Line Ltd is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of regulated claims management activities, registration number 829991.