New Jersey workers who suffer workplace injuries are entitled to workers compensation benefits. There are situations however when an experienced New Jersey workers' compensation attorney is needed to help a worker obtain benefits. These situations include injuries that result in long-term disability and when employers refuse to pay for employees' injuries.

In the case of one turkey processing plant worker, it appears that his injury will definitely be considered a long-term injury that is eligible for workers' compensation benefits. The worker was in an isolated part of a Jennie-O Turkey processing plant when his arm became entangled in an energized shackle line. The worker suffered severe personal injuries and had to have his arm amputated below the shoulder. Federal regulators recently inspected the plant after this incident and concluded that the health and safety violations at the plant warranted fines of $318,000.

"Jennie-O Turkey Store has a legal responsibility to follow established permit-required confined space regulations to ensure that its employees are properly protected from known workplace hazards," said an area director for the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. "Failing to ensure protection through appropriate training and adherence to OSHA regulations led to a worker losing an arm."

The worker reportedly had to walk down a flight of 25 stairs and across a couple hundred feet of the production floor before he could get the attention of a coworker. It is unclear whether the distance the employee had to travel after the accident contributed to his loss of his arm.

Source: OSHA, "US Department of Labor's OSHA cites Jennie-O Turkey Store for 11 safety violations after amputation of worker's arm at Barron, Wis., processing facility," Region 5 News Release: 12-42-CHI, Jan. 23, 2012