Pennsylvania Personal Injury Blog

One worker was killed and at least 18 others were injured last week when a walkway being built to give visitors breathtaking views of the Atlanta Botanical Garden suddenly collapsed. It sent workers plummeting dozens of feet to the forest below. Contractors were pouring concrete on the “canopy walk,” which climbed as high as 40 feet, when it gave way.

According to this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the injured workers were on top of the bridge when it collapsed. Although a nearby park was filled with joggers and others, only laborers were at the scene when the bridge gave way.

According to the article, workers were doing concrete work at the time, but authorities had few details of what caused the collapse. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said four federal investigators were looking into it.

The garden’s Web site describes the skyway as the “only canopy level pathway of its kind in the U.S.” Rising to four stories high, it was to be supported by a system of cable wires in the 30-acre garden.

Many of the injured workers suffered injuries to their spines, backs and arms. Some were “potentially debilitating.”

A hospital spokeswoman said seven were sent to intensive care, most with brain and spinal injuries.

The building was led by Hardin Construction Co.

Continue reading " Atlanta bridge collapse kills worker, injures 18 " »

A truck driver from Pennsylvania died after a pipe weighing more than 600 pounds fell on him at a construction site in Michigan.

According to this article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, 33-year-old Bradley Rodman of St. Marys, Pa., was killed last week in Bath Township, Michigan, about 75 miles west-northwest of Detroit.

Bath Township police say a large waterline pipe was being lifted off a semi by a forklift when a second pipe fell off the truck onto Rodman, who was pronounced dead at the scene of the construction accident.

Rodman was delivering equipment to the site and police are treating it as a construction accident.

The Rodman family will be entitled to receive workers’ compensation through his employer.
The family would also be well-advised to consult with an experienced Pennsylvania worker’s compensation attorney, who will tell them if there is a “third party claim” here. A third party claim is a claim made against someone other than the employer, but could be held responsible for the accident, injuries and/or wrongful death.

Continue reading " Pa. trucker killed by 600-pound pipe in Michigan " »

One worker was killed and five were injured on the job in an explosion and fire at Delek Refining Ltd. in Texas. A few days after the explosion more than 2,000 gallons of gasoline spilled from a tank at the same refinery. The refinery employs about 270 people, has a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day, and is the 94th-largest oil refinery in the U.S.

According to this article published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the unleaded gas from Delek Refining Ltd. spilled into a creek, where firefighters set up a foam barrier to try to stop the spread.

Tyler Fire Department Chief Joey Wiggins said firefighters cleared the area after residents reported a strong gas smell. The refinery was closed at the time of the spill because Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the explosion and fire.

Delek was cited back in February by OSHA for safety violations that included failing to ensure valves were properly configured and an inability to show structures followed blast resistance guidelines.

The victims of the explosion could have a case against whoever designed, manufactured, or sold the equipment that malfunctioned and caused this worker’s death and the other work related injuries. If there was a product defect in the equipment that it manufactured then that manufacturer could be held liable. If the malfunctioned equipment was maintained by a third party (someone other than the employer) then they could also be held responsible for the accident and resulting injuries.

Continue reading " Worker dies and many injured at Texas refinery " »

Federal regulators are now taking steps to get medically unfit truck and bus drivers off the road, in an effort to limit dangerous auto accidents on our nation's highways.

According to this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration approved a rule that states must combine commercial truck and bus drivers' licenses and their medical examination certificates into a single electronic record.

This rule will make it easier to check whether drivers have met medical requirements to operate commercial vehicles.

The administration has also proposed creating a registry of medical examiners qualified to award certificates to drivers. Examiners who do not meet minimum standards could be barred from issuing fitness-to-drive certificates.

According to the article, agency officials were reprimanded at a House hearing earlier this year for ignoring the problem of medically unfit drivers despite repeated warnings from Congress.

The rule finalized on December 1 addresses some of a series of recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board in 2001 in response to a motorcoach accident two years earlier in New Orleans that killed 22.

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A worker at a New York Wal-Mart was trampled and killed on “Black Friday” by shoppers desperate for bargains. Police said that about 2,000 people were waiting outside the store doors and knocked down Jdimytai Damour as he opened the doors at 5 a.m., leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

According to a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer, at least four other people, including a pregnant woman, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries, and the store closed for several hours before reopening.

Other store employees who tried to help Damour were also trampled. Damour, 34, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 6 a.m., police said. The cause of death had not been determined.

Police said criminal charges were possible, but that it would be difficult to identify individual shoppers. Authorities were reviewing surveillance video.

According to the article, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.

By law, it is required that every company in our state carry Pennsylvania Worker's Compensation Insurance in the case an employee is injured on the job, becomes ill due to circumstances surrounding their job or even if death results from their job. Benefits can include medical expenses, lost wages and death benefits. Workers' compensation exists both as a way to benefit injured workers and as a way to protect employers. Workers' compensation is a no-fault insurance system, which means that no guilt needs to be proved in a case; only that the injury sustained occurred while on the job.

Any worker who has sustained an injury arising out of and in the course of their employment has a potential workers' compensation claim in Pennsylvania.