A work-related accident can happen to any person who does a job for pay. Office workers, construction workers and workers in all other fields are subject to hazards and dangers whenever they undertake the responsibilities of their work-related tasks. While most Pennsylvania employers take proactive steps to make sure the people who work for them are kept as safe as possible, fatal accidents on worksites still happen, and when they do, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is contacted to complete an investigation.
An employer has eight hours to contact OSHA when a person dies while performing the duties of their jobs. Once a fatal workplace accident investigation begins, OSHA has up to six months to complete it; depending upon where the accident occurred and circumstances surrounding it the window of time it takes the agency to finish its inquiry can vary greatly.
According to recent worker death reports published by OSHA American workers are losing their lives in many different ways. Workers have suffered falls from trees and ladders that have resulted in fatalities. They have also been killed when they have been hit by large worksite machinery such as front end loaders and bulldozers.
Falling objects such as walls and building materials have killed some American workers in 2017 and others have lost their lives when they and the equipment that they were using fell into trenches and bodies of water. Falls are involved in many of the worker deaths reported for this calendar year and falls can affect workers across many different industries.
Work-related deaths are tragic and often preventable. After a worker dies, OSHA steps in to determine why the accident occurred and what should be done to prevent it from happening again. However, the surviving family members of the deceased victims can often benefit from speaking with wrongful death attorneys to determine what, if any, rights they have to pursue compensation for their extensive losses.