Could a Construction Company’s Mistakes Get a Worker Killed?
According to the Winston-Salem Journal, the NC Occupational Safety and Health Division announced that it is investigating a deadly construction accident that happened in Kernersville in early November. The on-the-job death was the first in Forsyth County in this year.
Why Is This Construction Worker’s Death Under Investigation?
As of September 30th, there had been 37 reported workplace fatalities in North Carolina in 2016. Reportedly, the investigation into the Kernersville construction accident will concentrate on what led to the deadly incident and whether safety violations, including construction company mistakes, were to blame.
Per the report in the Journal, the police were called to the construction site following the accident. The officers arrived to find an unspecified piece of construction equipment turned over and the worker who had been operating it dead. The police are not planning to investigate the incident as a homicide. As of this writing, the victim’s name has not been released to give authorities time to notify his relatives of the death.
Families who lose relatives to fatal on-the-job accidents can face several obstacles going forward, including:
- Hospital bills for medical treatment received prior to death
- Loss of income if the family member who died was a breadwinner
- Harassment from insurance companies to take quick settlements
While workers’ compensation and third party claims can never make up for the loss of a loved one, they are good options to help grieving families as they try to rebuild their lives.