Accident at Hershey Chocolate Plant Kills Worker
A temp worker at a Camden chocolate processing plant, died on July 8 in a workplace accident after he fell into an eight-foot vat that was mixing and melting chocolate to be used in Hershey’s candy. According to this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the worker was standing on a platform and tossing blocks of solid, raw chocolate into the tank.
The tank was heated at 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and paddles inside stirred the chocolate as it was thrown in. When the man fell, one of his three coworkers on the platform immediately rushed to turn the machine off. The two others tried to pull him out.
He was struck by one of the paddles and suffered fatal injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The decedent worked at a plant owned by Lyons & Sons, Inc., which is contracted by Cocoa Services, Inc. to process chocolate.
The mixing process was a daily task performed by the workers.
According to the article, the federal Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the incident.
The family of the deceased worker would be well advised to contact an experienced worker’s compensation attorney who can carefully examine the incident to identify any negligence or wrongdoing.
An experienced attorney would also look into a “third party claim.” These are claims that are filed against parties that are not the worker’s employer. It could be a contractor, a sub-contractor, or even the manufacturer of a defective product. If it is determined that one of those parties was responsible for the accident and any injuries, then they could be held liable.
Any worker who has sustained an injury arising out of and in the course of their employment has a potential workers’ compensation claim. The injury can be legally covered by workers compensation even if it occurred while an employee was traveling on business, doing a work-related errand, attending a required business-related social function, or even while on a break or using restroom facilities.
Whether your injury was a simple slip and fall, or involves serious injuries, Cherry, Fieger, & Marciano can help you. Our skilled Philadelphia workers compensation lawyers will do everything possible to get the monetary compensation that is owed to you to help pay medical bills, physical therapy, loss of work and more.
