It is very important for employers to not act negligently when it comes to the safety of their workers. Safety-related negligence by employers can lead to workplace accidents occurring. Workplace accidents can be extremely harmful. Such accidents can sometimes even lead to a worker’s death.
A case has recently arisen involving a fatal workplace accident. The case is from Mississippi. The accident occurred at the Moss Point, Mississippi facility of a fish oil/fish meal production company.
Reportedly, on April 9, 2012, a 24-year-old man who worked for the company was performing maintenance work on a conveyor in the facility.
The 24-year-old man’s mother claims that the company should have had safety lock features on the conveyer, but did not.
Allegedly, while the 24-year-old man was working on the conveyer, the safety monitor who was with him left the area. According to the 24-year-old man’s mother, the company was negligent in allowing the 24-year-old man to be left alone while working on the conveyor.
Reportedly, while the safety monitor was away, the conveyor was turned on by another worker. This reportedly caused the 24-year-old man to get dragged into the conveyor. The 24-year-old man died as a result of this.
The 24-year-old man’s mother claims that the company’s alleged negligence contributed to this fatal workplace accident.
A wrongful death lawsuit has been brought in a federal court in Mississippi against the company by the 24-year-old man’s mother in connection to these allegations. One wonders what will ultimately happen in this case.
Loss of a loved one due to a workplace accident can have many significant impacts on a family, including financial impacts. As this case illustrates, one step families who lose a loved one due to a workplace accident that was allegedly caused by employer negligence sometimes take to seek financial relief is bringing a claim against the employer.
Source: The Claims Journal, “Woman Sues Over Son’s Death at Omega Protein,” April 16, 2013