Injuries at Work and Wrongful Death

Written by

Not all workplace accidents are the same. Some are usually more likely to lead to fatalities at work. The most common ones include:

Injuries at Work and Wrongful Death

Falls and Struck-By Accidents

They are the leading cause of construction-related deaths. These deaths are wrongful when:

  • Equipment like harnesses aren’t adequately maintained
  • Mandated fall protection isn’t implemented correctly or at all
  • Debris isn’t safely contained and secured

Similarly, blunt force injuries from falling or flying objects like tools, vehicles or building materials result in many struck-by deaths. 

Failure to:

  • Cordon off hazard areas
  • Provide hard hats
  • Cover open holes
  • Follow equipment loading/unloading procedures

Can leave workers vulnerable to catastrophic impact injuries. This can the lead to them or their family members to contact a Construction Accident Lawyer to take the case and get the compensation they deserve.

Machine-Related Accidents

Industrial machinery accidents maim or kill countless workers each year. Though equipment failure can occur at random, negligent handling frequently comes into play, like when:

  • Safety guards are disabled or removed
  • Operators aren’t properly trained
  • Warning sensors and switches are nonfunctional
  • Mechanical issues aren’t addressed
  • Lockout/tagout procedures aren’t followed during maintenance

While human error can happen, allowing engineers to service machines without first ensuring they’re fully powered down shows wanton disregard for safety.

Explosions and Chemical Exposure

Toxic fumes or direct contact with hazardous materials damage the lungs, skin, eyes and organs, contributing to both acute and gradual deaths. Though accidents happen, negligence such as:

  • Inadequate use or supply of respirators
  • Lack of ventilation and warning sensors
  • Failure to provide appropriate protective equipment
  • Non-enforcement of safety protocols for handling dangerous substances

Commonly play a role. Explosion deaths often occur because warning signs like gas leaks go unaddressed, allowing preventable ignition of volatile chemicals and materials.

Electrocution

Failing to fully de-energize and lock out equipment during maintenance is one common cause of electrocution deaths. Others include:

  • Inadequate electrical system maintenance
  • Lack of posted warning signage near high-voltage equipment
  • Failure to provide dielectric shields and tools
  • Allowing cords and cables to remain frayed or damaged

While accidental contact occurs, deaths are largely preventable when appropriate tools, protocol and PPE are used.

Vehicles and Transportation

Though driver error plays a part, many commercial transport deaths stem from:

  • Poorly maintained vehicles
  • Encouraging overloaded/unsafe driving conditions
  • Lack of backup cameras or warning sensors
  • Failure to separate equipment and pedestrian zones

Companies that push overly long shifts also endanger workers. Allowing a sleep-deprived employee to operate heavy machinery demonstrates negligence.

Unsafe Structures and Excavations

Collapse-related crush injuries claim many construction and industrial workers when:

  • Support structures like trenches/scaffolds aren’t reinforced properly
  • Damaged buildings and equipment aren’t condemned
  • Prior damage or hazards go unaddressed
  • Sites aren’t correctly monitored by engineers

These deaths don’t have to occur. Following excavation safety guidelines could save lives.

Workplace Violence

While less common, workplace violence can lead to death. Employers who:

  • Ignore threats made by or against employees
  • Allow conflicts between workers to escalate
  • Fail to provide adequate security

May be considered liable if injuries sustained onsite lead to someone’s death.

Latent Health Issues

Long-term chemical or particulate exposure can cause eventual respiratory, circulatory and cancerous conditions that lead to premature death years down the road. Failure to:

  • Correct ventilation issues
  • Provide correct protective equipment
  • Monitor air quality
  • Perform medical testing when exposure occurs

Is tied to these occupational hazards. Even if safety efforts come too late to benefit those already sick, acting swiftly can still prevent further harm.

While the above categories cover common causes of accidental death, many incidents involve multiple failures – an unsecured temporary staircase collapses, sending workers plummeting into unprotected machinery, for example.

Who Can File a Claim?

In recognition of how profoundly workplace deaths impact victims’ families, certain surviving relatives are eligible to pursue financial compensation through civil lawsuits.

Family Members Who Can Sue

Though qualifications vary slightly depending on state statutes, the following relatives may file a wrongful death lawsuit:

  • Legal spouse/domestic partner
  • Children (biological, adopted or stepchildren)
  • Parents
  • Siblings

Other family members, like grandparents or adult children, may also have legal standing depending on the situation. An experienced wrongful death attorney (also known as Abogado De Muerte Por Negligencia) can best evaluate each individual’s case.

In addition to biological family members, those within the previously mentioned categories who were financially dependent on the deceased often have grounds to sue as well. For example, if the victim was paying elder parents’ assisted living expenses each month or fully supporting younger siblings, the law allows these relations to recover damages.

What Damages Can Be Sought?

Because negligent workplace deaths have a financial impact beyond the victim’s own lost future income, multiple types of compensation can be pursued:

  • Funeral and burial costs
  • Outstanding medical bills from accident-related injuries
  • Loss of benefits like health insurance
  • Loss of household services the victim used to provide
  • Loss of inheritance
  • Loss of expected income, savings and potential retirement funds
  • Pain and suffering damages in cases of extended hospitalization prior to death

Punitive damages may also apply as a way to punish gross negligence like failure to fix known safety hazards. By asking for accountability through all applicable damages rather than just accepting an insurance payout, families can better demonstrate that workers’ lives carry more weight than profits.

Finding Justice After a Wrongful Death

The first hours and days following workplace fatality news are incredibly difficult for families. Their grief makes them vulnerable to poor advice, confusing bureaucratic requirements and predatory offers by insurance adjusters hoping to close cases quickly.

This is why consulting an experienced wrongful death attorney in workplace wrongful death litigation can help protect loved ones’ rights while guiding them through the legal process.

Performing an Independent Investigation

Understanding why an accident occurred requires determining the root cause by:

  • Interviewing witnesses
  • Reviewing safety logs to establish ongoing issues or prior injuries
  • Examining equipment like harnesses, machinery or tools for defects
  • Hiring specialty investigators like crane operation experts
  • Reconstructing the death scenario

Preserving all evidence and records allows attorneys to build the strongest case possible when establishing negligence.

Identifying Liable Parties

While the deceased’s employer is most often considered negligent, responsibility can extend beyond a single company. Contractors who built unsafe structures or manufacturers of faulty equipment can also be targets in lawsuits, as can property owners if accidents occur onsite but don’t directly involve the victim’s co-workers.

Experienced lawyers know how to follow the chain of accountability to name all those who contributed to the conditions allowing preventable deaths. This builds leverage in settling suits or seeking court judgments.

Managing Insurance Company Negotiations

Navigating communication with insurance carriers starts immediately following incident reports. Adjusters often make initial calls offering sympathy alongside leading questions about pre-existing medical conditions or eligibility for workers’ comp – all things that could reduce settlement totals later.

Accepting these early payouts frequently leaves families under-compensated, struggling to pay ongoing living expenses or medical bills when the money runs out years later. Attorneys act as advocates and advisors in these negotiations, pushing for fair compensation packages.

If reasonable agreements can’t be reached, they also stand ready to initiate court proceedings for higher judge or jury-directed awards. Their expertise calculates appropriate settlement ranges based on long-term financial impacts.

Filing Lawsuits and Litigating Cases

When efforts to settle fail and companies refuse to accept responsibility for negligent safety conditions leading to deaths, court action becomes necessary. Personal injury attorneys handle these lawsuits by:

  • Researching case histories to build legal arguments
  • Gathering evidence like internal safety audits and regulatory findings that support negligence claims
  • Contracting expert witnesses like biomechanists or engineers who can recreate accidents and pinpoint breaches
  • Questioning involved parties in legal depositions under oath
  • Representing clients in mediations, arbitrations and civil court proceedings

Through meticulous effort, they demonstrate where duty of care failed and make arguments regarding reasonable compensation to judicially impose fiscal accountability.

While financial awards can’t undo tragedy, punitive sums large enough to impact operations may prevent future negligence – or at least allow enjoyment of life for grieving families now struggling with economic burdens.

Why Legal Action Matters After Wrongful Death

Beyond direct effects on victims’ families, workplace wrongful death suits have a wider societal impact when successful. They set higher standards for safety across industries and give companies more incentive to protect their workforce.

Sending a Safety Message

Six and seven-figure lawsuits garner media attention, which often spurs calls for updated regulations. The sheer cost of higher insurance premiums and damages makes companies rethink dismissing complaints or delaying repairs.

When careers and reputations take a hit following high-profile revelations of negligence, decision-makers are more apt to implement better training and accountability systems. The ripple effects drive broad improvement.

Improving Regulations

Successful verdicts establish a legal precedent that allows for larger awards in similar future cases. Plaintiff attorney groups like the American Association for Justice track litigations, using won arguments to lobby legislators for upgraded safety laws protecting workers in critical industries.

Publicity surrounding court cases puts pressure on lawmakers as well when outraged constituents demand better policies after preventable tragedies.

Deterring Future Negligence

At their most basic level, civil suits punish companies for lethal lapses by hitting them where it hurts – their bottom line. The combination of paying substantial compensation to victim families AND absorbing increased operating costs for improved safety measures makes ignoring issues decidedly less profitable.

Fearing similar fallout, other organizations preemptively assess their own protocols for any shortcomings. This rising tide lifts all ships by prompting widespread changes that make worksites fundamentally safer.

Workplace wrongful death suits thus create ripples of influence beyond just compensating families for their loss. They remind companies that workers have value beyond productivity. They bring accountability where it’s needed most – to prevent needless deaths.

Protect Your Rights After a Loss

Losing a loved one is devastating enough without adding legal and financial uncertainty. But unfortunately, the aftermath often stretches families to their limits at a time when the focus should rest solely on healing.

Consulting a personal injury attorney allows families time and space to grieve rather than rushing to respond to insurance adjuster calls or investigator questions. Letting counsel handle communication minimizes stress while ensuring optimal outcomes.

And so, relying on advocates to execute filings or appear in court allows mourning families room to process loss. Attorneys even arrange any necessary testimony preparation. Their hands-on involvement provides peace amid chaos.

It is true that the pain of losing beloved family members never fully fades. However, having dedicated support smoothing the legal path helps many find meaningful purpose in promoting workplace safety so others avoid preventable heartache.

More about Professional Career