Construction sites can be extremely dangerous, which is why safety has to be a priority for employers. Whether there are explosives or risks from falling from heights, it’s important that workers have the knowledge to stay safe and the equipment to help them do so.
Sometimes, accidents happen on the job. On Aug. 14, a Lincoln man was killed in a construction accident that took place near Arbor Road and 70th Street in that city. The 28-year-old man had been operating a rock grizzly, a piece of equipment used to separate rock. It was elevated on a Caterpillar bucket extension when the accident occurred.
The man reportedly had been operating equipment for T.N.T. Earth Moving. He got out of the front-end loader to talk to a coworker, which is when the grate on the loader detached and fell onto him. The grate was estimated to weigh over six tons. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the accident to determine the cause.
In this kind of case, it will always be important to get a witness’s testimony and to make sure that safety protocols were being followed at the time of the workplace accident. OSHA may also investigate the site.
If any violations occurred, then it would be important for the employer to be held liable and to make sure the workplace eliminates that hazard in the future. The last thing that anyone wants is to have a repeat of a horrible workplace tragedy. When a family loses a loved one in a workplace accident, they should explore their rights to workers’ compensation death benefits.