Construction site accidents are quite common in the US, as most worksites are ripe for bad things to happen. While many of the people who work in the construction industry realize they are taking a risk every day, they get up and go to work, and get out there to get the job done. Most of them expect to come home at the end of the day. Some of them don’t make it.
In this case, a steelworker was killed while at work when a pot hauler carrying slag inside the steel plant ran over the 58-year old man. Pot haulers are enormous pieces of equipment that deal with removing the byproducts of smelting. The man died of his severe injuries, including blunt force trauma, shortly after the incident.
The man was a contracted worker, a pot welder, who was working at the steel plant the day of his death. His devastated family contacted a wrongful death attorney to file a lawsuit against the steel plant for failing to provide a safe worksite. The suit further stated the company had a legal duty of care to the worker and that it was negligent in not providing proper safety measures to protect the workers onsite.
In addition, the language used in the lawsuit suit by the wrongful death attorney indicated that the company further neglected to administer safety protocols that may have saved the pot welder’s life. The man’s wife and their son are suing for the loss of love, support and affection by the husband and father.
Their wrongful death attorney will tell them that there are other areas in which they may also claim compensation, for instance pain and suffering, medical bills, funeral expenses, loss of future income of the husband and punitive damages. Punitive damages are generally awarded if the conduct of the defendant was grossly negligent. If the driver of the pot hauler was texting on his cell phone or speeding inside the plant without regard to others, this conduct may classify as gross negligence.
Restitution in wrongful death cases usually comes in the form of a verdict handed down by a jury, although that isn’t always the case, as a settlement may be another alternative. A wrongful death case is one like this one, in which a person’s dependents (here, the wife and son) are asking the courts for compensation for the negligence of another. Cases like this are handled by a wrongful death attorney with experience in dealing with this area of the law.
At one time, if a person was killed due to the negligence of another, any claim they may have had was considered to have died with them. Over time, this point of view changed, because the survivors were often left in difficult financial positions with the death of a provider. Most states realized if another’s negligence killed someone, those left behind deserved compensation for the wrongdoing/wrongful death of that person. To this end, most states now have wrongful death statutes. They tend to vary from state to state, and you should ask your wrongful death attorney what laws are applicable in your case.
When this family contacted a wrongful death attorney to talk about filing a lawsuit, he outlined a variety of ways personal injuries may be sustained while at work: being exposed to hazardous materials (manganese or asbestos), defective equipment, improper safety protocols, or no safety protocols and reckless or negligent workers. The bottom line is that the person or persons responsible for the death of this worker may be charged with negligence because their actions contributed or caused death.
In this instance, the widow acted quickly in calling a wrongful death attorney, which is good, because they need to make sure the case is filed before the Statute of Limitations runs out. If the suit is not filed in time, the plaintiff loses the option to sue the wrongdoer. This is something else that varies from state to state as well, so don’t wait to talk to an experienced attorney.
Usually, one of the first things a wrongful death attorney will attempt is to negotiate with the defendant’s insurance company. However, if they can’t reach a fair and equitable settlement, the plaintiff has the right to go to court. This often is the better route, as the judge is the final arbiter of the award, which in many cases is higher than what the insurance company was willing to agree to.
As you can see, a wrongful death attorney has a lot of skill and experience when it comes to handling cases of this nature. In any instance where you have lost a loved one due to an accident that was someone else’s fault; don’t wait to speak to a wrongful death attorney. Time is crucial in cases like this.
