Many people associate workers’ compensation claims with on-the-job injuries. Benefits are also available for Philadelphia County families whose loved ones die in workplace accidents. Benefits help survivors recover from financial hardships like funeral costs, accident-related medical expenses and wage losses.
A man died recently while working late at night in a Harrisburg warehouse. The 40-year-old employee was operating a forklift when the man was impaled by steel bars. The bars were sticking out of a bundle of steel, knocked out of position by the forklift operator as the worker was removing another bundle from tall shelves.
Investigators said the employee at Dayton Parts, a manufacturer of motor vehicle springs, apparently failed to see the second bundle’s steel bars protruding into the narrow warehouse aisle. A cage surrounded the driver’s seat on the top and three sides, but there was no protection at the front of the machine. Several bars pierced the man’s chest as the operator was maneuvering the forklift to make a turn.
A second employee, working in a different area of the company, went in search of the forklift operator after a bundle of steel failed to arrive in a steel cutting area on time. The man was the first to discover the impaled worker. The victim died at the scene of the industrial accident.
First responders remained at the warehouse several hours to secure the steel bundle and free the victim’s body from the machine. Investigators from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on the scene the following morning. A Pennlive.com update reported the death was ruled accidental.
Members of the emergency crew and several of the victim’s co-workers were traumatized by what they saw. Some workers were told to go home.
Workers’ compensation benefits are available for job-related injuries, including emotional trauma, and deaths. Attorneys help victims and families file benefits’ claims and take legal actions against negligent parties.
Source: PennLive.com, “Harrisburg warehouse worker dies after being impaled by steel bars,” Christine Vendel, Aug. 31, 2015