Cherry Injury Law RSS Feed
As long as coal mining has been a staple in the Pennsylvania economy, it has also been notorious for workplace accidents and deaths. Although the coal mining industry has grown safer over the decades, it still involves inherently dangerous work and equipment.
Just this week, a worker at a western Pennsylvania coal mining company was killed on the job in a tragic workplace accident. The accident occurred around 7 a.m. on Wednesday, officials say, when the 26-year-old worker was crushed under a 33-ton rock truck at a Brush Valley Township surface mine.
The worker, who was a mechanic, was attempting to repair a leak on the truck when a damaged part “gave out” and pinned him between the truck’s body and one of its tires, officials said. Reprotedly, the accident caused the worker to sustain fatal head and chest injuries.
Inevstigators from several agencies were on site following the accident in effort to determine what went wrong.
Officials said that this was the first mining-related death in the state so far this year. Although the accident occured on mine property, officials added that the accident did not occur “within the surface mining complex.” Even so, the mining company could potentially face liability in a personal injury lawsuit if neliegnce was involved.
A wrongful death lawsuit following a workplace accident caused by negligence can be complex. Not only does the family have to prove who was at fault for the accident, there are also complex state laws that must be followed. For that reason, families involved in wrongful death lawsuits following fatal workplace accidents need an experienced personal injury lawyer on their side.
Source: The Tribune-Democrat, “Mechanic killed at mine site,” David Hurst, Aug. 1, 2013