People who perform physical labor are always at a higher risk of injury than those that work in an office job. This is due to the inevitable situations that physical laborers may find themselves in during their work. For example, a man who worked for a tree-removal company in Pennsylvania was fatally wounded by a boom lift while he and a team of two other men operated a piece of equipment on the job. His wife is now seeking damages against the equipment company for the role it played in her husband’s death.
According to court documents, the deceased had been gathering debris on the ground prior to the alleged malfunction, while the other two workers prepared the tree for removal. Suddenly, one operator felt the vehicle shake uncharacteristically. Upon investigation, he found the boom arm had collapsed, ejecting the operator of the aerial lift bucket and violently striking the deceased. He succumbed to his work related injury before emergency crews could arrive.
The man’s wife believes the defendants designed, manufactured and sold a defective product without warning and because of this, her husband’s fatal injuries resulted. She is seeking in excess of $50,000 for compensatory damages in the lawsuit.
A manufacturer is expected to uphold a level of safety in the design and manufacture of their products. If that safety threshold isn’t met, it can result in injury and even, in this case, death. People who are injured by defective products, while on the job, should know their legal options. Likewise, family members of deceased victims, like the woman in this case, can also pursue legal action on behalf of their deceased loved one.
Source: pennrecord.com, “Woman says defective aerial lift led to wrongful death of husband during tree removal work,” Nicholas Malfitano, Feb. 15, 2017