A single mistake on the job can cost lives, a fact proven by this case. The wife of an electrocuted worker has filed a wrongful death lawsuit following the death of her husband in Preble County. The man died on Oct. 16, 2014, when he was electrocuted as he helped replace a metal roof on an electrical transformer substation.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration did cite the company the man was working for because of safety violations that played a role in the man’s death. The company, Metal Shredders, had to pay a negotiated amount of $63,250 as a result of nine violations. The federal safety agency then went on to issue Cohan Brothers three serious safety violations for not training its employees for safe electrical work practices. The penalties for those violations were negotiated down to $17,000.
The complaint filed by the man’s wife has stated that he came into contact with an energized electrical line while he was working despite thinking it was dead. That contact resulted in an electrical shock that resulted in external and internal burns. He suffered several other serious injuries as well.
The lawsuit goes on to complain that the testing equipment the men used may have played a role in the man’s death. The man had been told that the electrical line was tested and de-energized before he touched it, but that had not been the case. The problem is that the voltage tester they used at the scene was around 15 years old and had not been removed from service yet. Electrical testers should be removed from service every two years.
In cases like this, simple negligence or a lack of safety protocols can result in injuries or deaths. If this happens to you or your family, your attorney can help you seek a lawsuit against the responsible parties.
Source: Dayton Daily News, “Wife of electrocuted worker files wrongful death lawsuit,” Mark Gokavi, Oct. 28, 2016