workplace wrongful death

Published on: September 24, 2011

U.S. Enjoyed a Decrease in Workplace Casualties in 2010, but Did it Come at Workers’ Expense?

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics the number of workplace fatalities and workplace injuries in the Unites States has declined over the past year. Even with the nationwide institution of workers’ compensation statutes, which allow injured workers, or the heirs of workers killed while on the job, to recover for medical expenses that arise as a result of the injury, and a portion of weekly earnings lost as a result of the injury, a decrease in the number of workplace injuries and fatalities can only be good for workers. Or can it?

According to The Business Journals, the poor economy may have more of an impact on the decrease of workplace fatalities than anything else. Ironically, what should be a victory for workers across the United States may have actually come at their expense.

In 1970, the United States Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The purpose of OSHA was to “ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance. Goal was to decrease the number of workplace fatalities and injuries.” In addition to the establishment of OSHA in 1970, several states have also instituted workers’ compensation laws that provide compensation to workers, or their families, who have either been injured or killed while on the job.

Published on: August 23, 2011

OSHA Cites Jackson Contractor in Fatal Trench Collapse: Workers’ Compensation Fails to Properly Compensate Family

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A Jackson-based contractor has been citedby the Occupational Safety and Health and Administration for several safety violations that led to a trench collapse in Cumming early this year which resulted in the wrongful death of a worker. Unfortunately, under the workers’ compensation act, the workers’ family is extremely limited in what it can recover due to this on-the-job accident. Despite efforts by workers’ compensation lawyers for years to improve the benefits for families of workers killed on-the-job, the workers’ compensation laws have simply not improved.

The company, 2-Brothers Enterprises Inc was cited for several willful and serious violations related to the trench collapse.The collapse occurred in February at a worksite in Cumming.In the trench was a twenty-year-old worker who was trapped by the falling soil.Emergency crews managed to extricate the worker, but he died from his injuries.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration began an inspection after it found out about the cave-in.When OSHA inspectors arrived at the scene, they found that the trench had been excavated to install a sewer line.The trench was approximately 40 foot long and 9 feet deep.However, there were no safeguards in place for protecting workers inside the trench.The trench walls were vertical, and unstable.Large amounts of soil and dirt had simply been stacked on the edges of the trench.In fact, the collapse had been triggered by these mounds of dirt falling into the trench.

Published on: July 5, 2011

Atlanta Construction Worker Killed in Fall Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A construction worker was killed last week in a workplace accident at a high school site in Atlanta.The man had been working on an addition project at a school in south Atlanta, when he fell 20 feet from a hydraulic lift.

According to authorities, the entire accident was triggered when a piece of metal pipe fell from the ceiling of the addition, and crashed into the lift which was holding the worker.The impact caused the lift to jerk, and the worker fell about 20 feet below onto the pavement.He sustained serious injuries, and died.

According to news reports, the victim worked for a subcontractor on the project.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has begun an investigation into the accident.In the meantime, the site has been temporarily shut down. See Worker Killed in Fall.

Published on: February 23, 2011

Worker Killed in Forsyth County, Georgia Construction Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

There has been yet another construction worker death linked to a trench collapse accident in Georgia. These types of construction accidents often result in the wrongful death of the worker or serious injuries. Unfortunately, workers compensation benefits fail to truly compensate the family of the worker since the workers comp statute provides for such a limited payment for the death of the construction worker. One of the things that Georgia needs to revise is the death benefit provided under the workers compensation laws for a worker’s family. Of course, the family may or may not have an injury claim, but that will depend on whether any third party may be held liable for the workers’ wrongful death.

According to authorities in Forsyth County, the man from Covington, Newton County was working in a trench when the walls begin to collapse. Personnel from the Forsyth County Fire Department rushed to the scene, but by the time rescue crews arrived, the man had been completely buried under the soil.

The crews managed to clear the soil from his head and shoulders, but by then, the man has succumbed to his injuries. At the time of his death, it had been more than one hour since the collapse. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has begun an investigation into the construction accident.

Published on: October 27, 2010

Georgia Worker Killed in Trench Collapse – Workers Compensation Claim Watch

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Trench collapses are some of the most preventable workplace accidents and result in numerous workers compensation claims. Most of these collapses can simply be prevented by shoring up the walls of the trench, and determining whether the trench is safe to be used before workers are allowed inside.Failure to take these basic steps can be lethal.Workers’ compensation insurance carriers would be wise to perform workplace inspections more frequently and more thoroughly to prevent these accidents.

A worker was killed earlier this week in a trench collapse in Augusta, Georgia.The 37 -year-old worker and another man were in the trench, working on pipes.The trench was about 6-feet deep.According to news reports, water began to seep into the trench, and one wall collapsed.The two men were quickly buried under the sand.Firefighters were able to pull one worker out of the sand, digging frantically with their shovels and hands.However, they could do nothing to reach Augusta-resident Jimmy Roubles, who likely asphyxiated just a few minutes after being buried by the sand.He was declared dead just after noon.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been notified about his death.

Recovering Roubles’ body proved to be a challenge to the firefighters, with only one firefighter being allowed into the trench at a time to avoid another collapse.The body was recovered at about 3 PM.That delay in recovering the worker’s body should give Atlanta construction accident lawyers a sense of the instability of the trench.

Published on: February 23, 2009

Cartersville Construction Worker Killed in Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Construction sites are some of the most dangerous work places, with the industry occupying 3^rd place in the number of work-related fatalities every year. Most of these accidents are completely preventable, if only employers make provisions for proper training of workers and adequate safety measures. In one such preventable accident, a construction foreman in Cartersville, Georgia was killed earlier this month in a trench collapse accident.

James Hilbish was working in the trench as part of a sewer line installation on the 4^th of February when the cave in occurred.The trench was reportedly 30 feet in depth, and at least 25 to 30 feet in length His body was found more than 3 hours later. Hilbish worked for an Alabama company which had subcontracted the job from the Bartow County Water Department. No other injuries were reported in the accident.

A trench collapse is one of the most dangerous of all accidents on a construction site. The process of heaping mounds of soil on top of the trench walls can lead to the wall becoming weak and unstable.Besides, the soil that’s piled high on the walls can quickly shift under provocation, and began to pour into the trench within seconds. When this happens, any workers inside the trench are at risk for death by suffocation. In most cases, attempts to rescue workers can be extremely difficult because of the speed with which such collapses occur. Rescue attempts are also made more dangerous by the fact that disturbing the soil further can trigger off more cave-ins.That’s why these accidents so often result in fatalities.

Published on: February 13, 2009

Richmond County Worker Killed in Crane Accident

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A Richmond County worker has been killed in a crane accident at an International Paper wood yard facility.A press release by the company has said that Bill Drake was killed on February 2^nd at the plant’s facility on the Mike Padgett Highway.Drake was engaged in clearing wood debris on the tracks when he was struck by the metal cage of the crane. He died at the scene of the accident.

Drake worked as a crane operator, but that particular morning, he had been assigned the task of clearing the tracks. As per normal procedures, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration has initiated investigations into the accident.The company seems to have no record of accidents at the plant over the last five years.However, it has been subjected to inspections twice because of complaints.The first inspection resulted in fines for both minor as well as more serious violations, while the second inspection conducted last year did not yield any violations. An investigation by OSHA will likely take months, and it wouldn’t be possible to draw conclusions about the causes of the accident before the findings are out.There are several questions that can be raised about the accident though – for instance, who was operating the crane at the time of the accident? Was it a trained and qualified crane operator?Did Drake receive warnings while he was engaged in the debris clearing work, alerting him to possible danger from the crane?

Very often, workplace accidents are the result of inadequate safety precautions followed by employers as well as other workers at the scene of the accident. Employees need to be properly trained to handle the tasks they are performing, as well as a safe working environment where all safety precautions are followed stringently.

Published on: February 25, 2008

Two More Workers Die In Sugar Refinery Blast

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Two sugar refinery workers died over the weekend from the February 7^th explosion at the Imperial Sugar Plant in Port Wentworth, Georgia.That brings the total number killed in this workplace accident to 11.Twelve remain in critical condition at Doctors’ Hospital in Augusta, Georgia.Two are in serious condition.Over forty workers were injured and released from treatment.

The explosion occurred Thursday night around 7:30 p.m. when plant workers were packaging refined sugar into Dixie Crystal bags.Investigators believe the blast was caused by the accumulation of sugar dust in a basement area beneath the plant’s storage silos. Sugar dust is combustible. While the cause of the ignition is not yet known, stacked and dry sugar could create a static electric charge that could have ignited.

The explosion was so powerful that neighbors thought a bomb went off. Floors inside the plant collapsed, flames spread throughout the building, metal girders buckled, and sheet metal corridors connecting the plant buildings gave way.Molten sugar burned at more than 4000 degrees.Fire crews worked through the night and for several days following to put out the flames.Doors to the plant were glued shut by crystallized sugar sludge.