No matter the field of work, most jobs carry some risk to one degree or another. Some careers, though, such as construction, do carry a higher chance of injury. Luckily for Pennsylvania workers injured on the job, workers’ compensation helps relieve some of the financial worries for the resultant lost wages or medical expenses.
Tragically, sometimes work accidents result not just in injury but in death, as in a recent case in another state. A construction worker died from injuries sustained in a fall at his job site. While the cause of the man’s 12-foot fall is currently unknown, inquiries into the accident have determined that it was trauma from the fall itself that led to the man’s death. Construction regulations allow the scaling of ladders of heights of up to 15 feet without requiring fall protection, and the worker only fell from a height of 12 feet.
Regardless, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation into the accident. Because no hazards to other workers were immediately apparent, work at the job site has not been halted and no restrictions have been imposed. The inquiry will involve an investigation lasting up to six months while OSHA officials examine the employer’s safety plan and training procedures to ensure all regulations are being followed.
While this could prove beneficial for other employees, it does nothing to bring the deceased worker back to his grieving family. Thankfully, workers’ compensation usually covers not just injuries sustained while on the job, but also provides benefits for families of deceased workers as well. A Pennsylvania attorney with experience in workers’ compensation cases can help families who have lost loved ones to on-the-job accidents to seek the full amount of benefits to which they are entitled, meaning one less thing for the grieving family to worry about.
Source: lagunabeachindy.com, “Cal-OSHA Opens Inquiry into Worker???s Death“, Andrea Adelson, June 16, 2017