According to a recent Star Telegram article, a 52-year-old maintenance worker at Fort Worth’s Dannon plant died six days after suffering blunt force head and chest injuries during a mechanical entrapment accident. While an independent investigation into the fatal work accident in Forth Worth is being conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Dannon is also evaluating what conditions may have caused the worker to become pinned by a scissor lift in the plant.
While Dannon claims that they are currently working to thwart similar accidents from happening again, the company also speculates that the accident may have been caused by either equipment failure, the worker inadvertently falling on the scissor lift controls, or another undetermined reason. Any worker injured on the job in Texas may be able to file a workers’ compensation claim with their employer. If it is determined that a third party, such as the manufacturer of defective equipment, was negligent and caused a work injury accident, the injured worker may be able to seek compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and loss of past and future wages. Similarly, family members of deceased workers may also seek various forms of restitution for both their loss and the potential financial repercussions associated with losing the family’s primary breadwinner.
OSHA worker fatality statistics reveal that approximately 5,071 workers in the United States died on the job in 2008. Despite state and federal safety regulations and required employee training procedures, some employers or site managers may rush through safety training procedures, overlooking their important responsibilities and displaying an outright disregard for the well-being of their employees.
