Workplace accidents can impede Maryland employees’ income

On-the-job and worksite safety has made vast improvements over the last 10 years, especially in Maryland. Company owners and investors have spent millions of dollars on trainings for both employees and supervisors to help keep the workplace accident and injury free. But even with the most rigorous training and stringent guidelines and procedures, workplace accidents can and will happen. A company in another state has recently been fined for safety violations after an employee was fatally injured at the end of 2016.

A 49-year-old man became entangled in a lathe at a metal workshop. The incident occurred around 5 p.m. while the worker was alone. A co-worker returned to check on the man and found the victim’s body on top of the lathe and phoned for help.

Even though the employee was alone, security cameras caught the incident on video. An investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the safety mechanisms, which close the doors while the machine is spinning, had been disabled and caused the accident. The company has since been fined $12,675 by OSHA for serious workplace safety violations.

When an injury or accident occurs on the job, Maryland victims and their families have options available to them to help cover medical expenses and lost wages that are a direct result of workplace accidents. Should the employee be fatally injured, the surviving spouse and minor children may file a claim for survivors benefits. If the death of the victim was due to the gross negligence of the employer or the fault of a third party, the family may the option to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

Source: theblade.com, “Toledo firm fined $12,675 in fatal machine-shop accident“, Tyrel Linkhorn, May 30, 2017