According to a York County deputy coroner, a one- to two-ton electrical box fell on and killed an Adams County electrician on Jan. 20. The workplace accident occurred at a water authority pumping facility that is undergoing expansion in Windsor Township.
According to police, the worker was attempting to move the box into place when it came off of a set of rollers. A police news release described the electrical box as weighing more than 2,000 pounds with a size of 7 by 4 feet. The worker died at the accident scene. Emergency personnel received the call a little before 11 a.m.
The worker’s death is classified as an industrial accident according to the deputy coroner, which means that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified of the incident. An OSHA representative responded to the accident scene around two hours after the incident took place.
If it is determined that faulty equipment, such as the rollers the electrical box was positioned on, was the cause of the accident, the man’s survivors may opt to file a lawsuit. Employers that fail to maintain or install required safety equipment may be subject to OSHA fines and workers’ compensation lawsuits.
If a worker is killed on the job, his or her family may be entitled to financial compensation including the estimated lifetime wages that he or she might have earned. Some employers may be reluctant to pay a fair settlement or might offer a low settlement that does not fully compensate the family. It may be possible to negotiate with the employer for a fair settlement, but in some situations it might become necessary to litigate the case in civil court.
Source: The Hanover Evening Sun, “Coroner: Man died from blunt force trauma when electrical box fell on him in Windsor Township”, January 20, 2014