An employee of Claude Howard Lumber Co. died in an on-the-job accident late last month, while working at the sawmill on Park Avenue in Statesboro, Georgia. Salvador Hernandez, 32, was reportedly climbing into a piece of equipment at the lumber mill to remove an object that was jamming the machinery, when the equipment crushed him. If you have suffered injuries in a work-related accident in Atlanta, Marietta, or elsewhere in Georgia, consult our workers’ compensation lawyers at Rechtman & Spevak today. With our experienced attorneys on your side, you can protect your legal rights and pursue the compensation you deserve for your workplace injuries and any related medical bills.
Worker Trapped Under Bander Machine
In a statement issued in regards to the workplace fatality, Claude Howard Lumber said Hernandez, who had been an employee of the company for close to four years, was killed “when he became trapped under the bander machine which he normally operated.” The Georgia work accident took place around 7 a.m. on the morning of October 27, and Hernandez was transported by EMS to East Georgia Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. “The company is conducting its own internal investigation to determine how the accident occurred,” read the statement from Claude Howard Lumber, “and is cooperating with authorities from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in their investigation.”
Sawmill Workers at Risk for Job-Site Accidents
According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Claude Howard Lumber Co. has had two workplace safety complaints filed against it in the past three years, the most recent having been filed on April 28, in connection with the company’s failure to maintain a forklift in safe condition. “Working in a sawmill is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States,” OSHA warns. “Massive weights and falling, rolling, and/or sliding logs can be very dangerous…Workers have a right to a safe workplace. The law requires employers to provide their employees with working conditions that are free of known dangers.”
Contact Our Skilled Workers’ Comp Lawyers Today
Being that Salvador Hernandez was performing work duties at the time of his death, his family and dependents are most likely entitled to workers’ compensation benefits per Georgia law, and should a mechanical malfunction or safety guard failure be found to have caused the on-the-job accident, additional claims may be filed against the company that manufactured the equipment that caused the worker’s death. If you have lost a loved one in a fatal workplace accident in Georgia, contact our knowledgeable attorneys at Rechtman & Spevak today. You may have grounds to file a workers’ compensation claim for death benefits.
Source: http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/64198/
