Pittsburgh area worker dies after being pinned to ceiling

A Pittsburgh area worker died at the factory where he was working. At a West Mifflin facility, the worker somehow became pinned between a lift bucket and the ceiling. The worker had apparently been unresponsive for sometime before his death was discovered.

This work-related death remains under investigation, and an autopsy of the deceased man is in the process of being conducted. The facility serviced power generation equipment, and the individual that died has been described as a contract worker.

Though the circumstances of this accident are unique, there is so much activity at any worksite that work-related accidents can occur in a large variety of ways. For a worker required to perform his or her job in a lift bucket, there is the possibility of falls or machinery mishaps. Such a workers safety is often placed in the hands of other individuals.

The fortunate aspect of being injured on the job (if there is a fortunate aspect), as opposed to being injured anywhere else, is that workers' compensation laws do not require a proving of fault for an individual to recover. However, workers' compensation law is complex, meaning that it is often difficult to understand all that is required for recovery to occur. To make a claim often requires the advice and counsel of a knowledgeable workers' compensation attorney that understands this area of the law.

Factory workers such as the deceased worker are clearly performing tasks that most of the rest of us would rather avoid. Such workers deserve that worker safety protocol be followed, and that such workers and their families be well taken care of when such individuals are injured or killed.

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "Worker dies at GE plan in West Mifflin," by Eric Slagle, June 28, 2012