A Pennsylvania worker was killed in a construction accident last month after falling 25 feet to his death. The 28-year old worker was involved in the construction of a barn at the time that the accident occurred.
Presumably the worker died at the scene as the county coroner’s office was called to the construction site. Members of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) also responded to the accident location.
Though the results of any OSHA investigation were not yet reported, family members will likely wish to have their own independent investigation to discover what had occurred. When workers are performing tasks at a sufficient height, safety measures should be taken to prevent such calls from occurring.
Pennsylvania workers’ compensation laws were put into place so that a worker can recover medical expenses and wage losses for work-related injuries without having to prove fault on the part of the employer. And though such laws in many instances prohibit filing any other kind of lawsuit against the employer in the event the employer was at fault, there are sometimes other legal options available for the injured worker. This would be a matter that would need to be discussed with an attorney that understands Pennsylvania workers’ compensation laws.
There are, of course, other reasons why family members would want to find out what happened. Establishing precisely what did happen may lead to these types of accidents being prevented in the future.
We cannot afford to allow employers to become complacent concerning worker safety. Workplace accidents often occur because employers did not feel that particular safety measures should be implemented.
Source: Lehigh Valley News, “Construction worker accidentally killed in Northampton Co.,” May 21, 2013